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CONTENTS 



I. MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 

PAGE 

T . Introduction 9 

2. Rise of the Saracens 20 

3. Rise of the Frankish Kingdom 25 

4. Rise of Modern Nations. , . . . . 31 

1. England 31 

2. France 48 

3. Germany 67 

4. Switzerland 81 

5. Italy in the Middle Ages 84 

6. The Crusades 91 

7. The Moors in Spain 98 

8. Asia in the Middle Ages 99 

9 Medieval Civilization 102 

II. MOD.ERN PEOPLES. 

1. Introduction 117 

2. The Sixteenth Century 124 

1. The French in Italy 124 

2. The Age of Charles V 127 



IV CONTENTS. 

The Sixteenth Century {Continued). page 

3. The Rise of the Dutch Republic 139 

4. Civil-Religious Wars of France 144 

5. England under the Tudors 149 

6. The Civilization 161 

3. The Seventeenth Century , 174 

1. The Thirty- Years War 174 

2. France in the Seventeenth Century 180 

3. England under the Stuarts 188 

4. The Civilization 207 

4. The Eighteenth Century 214 

1. Peter the Great and Charles XII 214 

2. Rise of Prussia: Age of Frederick the Great.. 220 

3. England under the House of Hanover 226 

4. The French Revolution 230 

5. The Civilization 247 

5. The Nineteenth Century 253 

1. France 253 

2. England... 277 

3. Germany . 282 

4. Italy 286 

S.Turkey 290 

6. Greece 291 

7. The Netherlands 292 

8. Japan 292 

III. APPENDIX. . 

1. Historical Recreations i 

2. Index xv 




1. Frontispiece. Yiew in Constantinople. ^^ 

2. In Sight of Eome 9 

3. The Papal Insignia 15 

4. Elevating on the Shield 18 

5. Group of Ancient Aejis 20 

6. CHAP.LES MaRTEL AT THE BATTLE OF ToURS 23 

7. Charlemagj^e Crowned 28 

8. Portrait of Charlemagne 29 

9. Portrait of "William the Conqiteroe 35 

10. The Scrlptorium of a Monastery. (A Monk Illuminating a MS.) 43 

11. House of a Nobleman (Twelfth Century) 44 

12. Early English Bench or Bed 44 

13. A Dinner Party 45 

14. Primitive Method of Cooking (Fourteeneh Century) ^ 

15. Preparing a Candidate for Knighthood 47 

16. Norman Ship (from the Bayeux Tapestry) 48 

17. Portrait of Philip Augustus 52 

18. Soldier op the Fourteenth Century 53 

19. A Knight Templar 54 

20. King John and his Son at Poitiers 56 

21. English Long-bow Men 57 

22. Prince Edward's Tomb at Canterbury 59 

23. Portrait of Jeanne Darc 62 

24. Early Inhabitants of France 65 

25. Paris in the Middle Ages 66 

26. Bobber Knights in Ambush 76 

27. Scenes in Venice 87 

28. The Arch of Titus 90 

29. Crusaders on the March 91 

30. The Tomb of Godfrey de Bouillon 92 

31. Badge of the Templars 93 

32. St. Louis landing in Egypt 96 

33. Mohammedan Emblems 101 

34. Serfs of the Twelfth Century. (From MS. of the time.) 102 

35. Medieval Castle 104 

36. Costumes of Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 105 

37. The Stylus, two forms (Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries)... 108 

38. Fac-simile of French Writing of the Fifteenth Century 109 

39. Male Costume (Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries) 110 

40. Female " " " " 110 



VI ILLUSTRATIOKS. 

PAGE 

41. A Movable Iron Cage (Fifteenth Centfet) 110 

42. Gold Florin (Louis IX.) 114 

43. Globe illustrating the Geographical Knowledge of the Fifteenth 

Century 117 

44. The Intention of Printing 119 

45. A Ship of the Fifteenth Century 121 

46. ToaiB of Columbus at Havana 123 

47. Portrait of Francis I. (After Titian.) 126 

48. Field of the Cloth of Gold 128 

49. Luther before the Diet of Worms 134 

50. Sacking a Cathedral 139 

51. Portrait of Catharine de' Medici 144 

52. '' Admiral Coligny 145 

53. " Henry of Guise 146 

54. " Sully 148 

55; '' Henry VIII., AND Cardinal Wolsey 151 

56. The Chained Bible (Sixteenth Century) ; 153 

57. Portraits of Queen Elizabeth, and Mary Queen of Scots 156 

58. Portrait of Philip II. of Spain 158 

59. Tomb of Queen Elizabeth 160 

60. The Glory of the Elizabethan Age 162 

61. A Group of Courtiers in the Time of Elizabeth 164 

62. Shakspere's Globe Theatre 166 

63. The Rack (A Mode of Punishment in the Sixteenth Century) 167 

64. London Watchmen (Sixteenth Century) 168 

65. Bringing in the Yule Log at Christmas 173 

66. Before the Battle of Lutzen ■. . 178 

67. Portrait of Louis XIII 180 

68. " Cardinal Richelieu 181 

69. " Cardinal Mazaein 182 

70. " Colbert 183 

71. " TURENNE 185 

72. Guy Fawkes and his Companions 190 

73. Charles I. and his Armor-bearer 192 

74. Cromwell Dissolving the Long Parliament 194 

75. Execution of Charles I — 196 

76. Medal of Oliver Cromwell 199 

77. Titus Gates in the Pillory 203 

78. Portraits of Dryden, Milton, and Bunyan 208 

79. Signature of Louis XIV 209 

80. Court of Louis XIV 210 

81. The Palace of the Luxemburg 213 

82. Portrait of Ivan the Terrible 215 

83. Peter the Great studying Ship building 216 

84. Frederick the Great reviewing his Grenadiers at Potsdam 222 

A Portrait of Maria Theresa . . 223 

85. .Portrait of George III 229 

86. Fac-simile of Law's Paper Money 230 

87. Portraits op Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, and the Dauphin 231 

88. Portrait of Turgot 231 

89. " Necker 232 

90. French Fagot-vender (Eighteenth Century) 233 

91. Female Head-dress (Eighteenth Century) 233 

92. The Bastile 234 

93. Scene in Paris after the Storming op the Bastile 235 



ILLUSTRATIONS. V.l 

PAGE 

94. Girondists on the Wat to Execution 238 

95. Portrait of Robespikrre 239 

96. Costumes of the Three Orders 240 

97. Fac-simile of the Signature of Napoleon Buonaparte 240 

98. Portrait of Napoleon Buonaparte 241 

99. Buonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole 243 

100. The Pyramids of Egypt 245 

101. Buonaparte before the Council of Five Hundred 24« 

102. Portraits of Alexander Pope, Steele, Addison, Swift, and De Foe. . 248 

103. Temple of Glory (The Madeleine) 255 

104. Portrait of the Empress Josephine 256 

105. Napoleon and Josephine at St. Cloud 258 

106. The Battle op Wagram 261 

1C7. Cossacks harassing the Retreating Army 263 

108. Napoleon parting with the Old Guard at Fontainebleau 265 

109. Tomb of Napoleon at St. Helena 268 

110. Column of July 269 

111. Lancers Clearing the Boulevards at Paris. 270 

112. Proclamation of the Republic 271 

113. Street Placards announcing the Coup d'etat 273 

114. Execution of a Female Communist in Paris 275 

115. Barricading the Streets of Paeis 276 

116. The Royal Palace at Berlin 288 

117. Portrait of Count Bismarck 284 

118. " William, King OF Prussia 285 

119. " Garibaldi 287 

120. " Victor Emmanuel 288 

121. The French Army occupying the Castle of St. Angelo 289 

122. The Four Classes of Japanese Society— Military, Agricultural, 

Laboring, and Mercantile 294 



LIST OF MAPS. 

1. Map of the Nations of Western Europe (Fifth Century) 11 

2. Map of the Empire of the Caliphs (Eighth Century) 21 

3. Map of the Empire of Charlemagne 27 

4. Map of the Four Conquests of England. 32 

5. Map of France in the Time of Hugh Capet 51 

6. Map of Burgundy under Charles the Bold 64 

7. Map of the German Empire under the Hohenstaufens, including 

Naples and Sicily 72 

8. Map of Syria in the Time of the Crusades 95 

9. Map of the Iberian Peninsula in the Fifteenth Century 98 

10. Map illtJstrating the Great Voyages of Discovery 120 

11. Map of Italy from the Fifteenth Century 125 

12. Map of the Wars in France, the Netherlands, and Civil War in 

England 141 

13. Map of Central Europe. (The Thirty- Years and Seven-YeArs 

Wars.) 175 

14. Map of Eastern Europe (Seventeenth Century). 189 

15. Map of Modern Nations of Europe, Western Asia, and Africa. . . 226 

16. Map of Napoleon's Wars , 254 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS 



r 1. Introduction. 



Rise of the 
Saracens, 



Rise of the 
Prankish 
Empire, 



1. Chief Events of Middle Ages. Characteeistics. 
General Divisions. 

The Teutonic Settlements. 

The Character op the Teutonic Conquest. 

The Eastern Empire. 

The Papacy. 

Early German Civilization. 

Mohammed. 

2. The Caliphs. 

3. Saracens in Europe. Extent of Empire. 

4. Saracen Divisions. 

5. Saracen Civilization. 

1. Clovis and the Franks. Merovingian Dynasty. 

2. Pepin the Short. Carlovingian Dynasty. 
His Conquests. 
Crowned Empei'or. 
Government. 
Charlemagne and his Court. 

f a. Roman 

1. The Four Conquests 



3. Charlemagne. 






r 1. England. 



Riseof IVIod- 
ern Nations. 



2. France. 



3. Germany 



. 4. Switzerland. 



Growth of Consti- I 
tutional liberty. ; 



h. Anglo-Saxon, 
c. Danish. 
. d. Norman. 
( a. Bunnymede 
I and 3Iagna 

Charta. 
The House of 
Commons. 



3. Conquest of Ireland. 

4. Conquest of Wales. 

5. Conquest of Scotland. 

6. Wars of the Roses. 

7. Early English Civilization. 

1. RoUo and the Norsemen. 

2. Capet. The Capetian Dynasty. 

3. Weakness of the Monarchy. 
^ a. Philip Augustus. 



Growth of the 
Monarchy under 



Louis IX. 

c. Philiv IV. 

d. Louis XL 

— Triumph of Ab- 
solutism. 



5. Italy in the Middle Ages. 



The Crusades. 

The Moors in Spain, 

Asia in the Middle Ages, 



9. Mediasval Civilization. 



it 



5. House of Valois. 

6. The Hundred- Years War. 

7. The Kingdom of Burgundy. 

8. Consolidation of French Monarchy. 

9. Early French Civilization. 

1. Comparison with France. 

2. The Saxon Dynasty. 

3. The Franconian Dynasty. 

4. The Hohenstaufen Line. 

5. Great Interregnum. 

6. The Hapsburgs. 
■ Origin. 

Three Great Battles. 
Growth of the Confederacy. 

1. Papal' Power. 
Venice. 
Florence. 
Naples. 

L 4. Eome. 
J 1-8. The Eight Crusades. 
I 9. Effects of the Crusades. 
j 1. The Monguls. 

I 2. The Turks. [When writing upon the 

' 1. Feudalism. blackboard, the piipil can fill 

2. The Castle. out the subdivisions from the 

3. Chivalry. headings of the paragraphs in 

4. The Knight. the text.] 

5. The Tournament. 

6. Education and Literature. 

7. Manners and Customs. 



ri. 

Italian Cities. -| g 



MfDI£VAT 




The Middle Ages extend 
from the Fall of Rome (476) 
to the capture of Constantino- 
ple (1453)— about 1000 years. 
During this period the chief 

events were the migrations of the northern tribes (Anc. 

Peo., p. 266) ; the invasion of the Saracens ; the establish- 



IN SIGHT OF ROME. 



Geogi'apkical Ques^zo??s, —Thes^e queries are intended to test the pupil's 
knowledge, to make him familiar with the maps of the Middle Ages and prepare him 
to locate the history he is about to study. See list of maps, p. 7. Bound Syria, 
Ajabia, Gaul, Britain, Spain, Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, 



10 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 

ment of the Frankish kingdom, including the empire of 
Charlemagne ; the rise of the modern nations ; the Cru- 
sades; the Hundred- Years War ; and the Wars of the Eoses. 
The era was, in general, characterized by the decline of 
letters and art, the rise of Feudalism or the rule of the 
nobles, and the supremacy of the Papal Power. 

Two Divisions. — Six of the ten centuries composing this 
period are called the Darh Ages — a long night following the 
brilliant day of Roman civilization. The last four centuries 
constitute the dawn of the Modern Era. Wandering tribes 
then became settled nations ; learning reyived ; and order 
and civilization began to resume their sway. 

A ne"W era of the world began in the 5th century. The 
gods of Greece and Rome had passed away, and a better 
religion was taking their place. The old actors had vanished 
from the stage, and strange names appeared. Europe pre- 
sented a scene of chaos. The institutions of centuries had 
crumbled. Everywhere among the ruins barbarian hordes 
were struggling for the mastery. Amid this confusion we 
are to trace the gradual outgrowth of the modern nation- 

Poland, RiTssia.— Locate Carthage, Jerusalem, Mecca, Damascus, Bagdad, Alex- 
andria, Acre, Tunis, Moscow, Delhi, Constantinople. 

Locate Tours, Rheims, Fontenay, Verdun, Cr^cy, Poitiers, Azincourt, Limoges, 
Calais, Rouen, Orleans, Metz, Avignon, Bordeaux.— Locate Cordova, Seville, Gra- 
nada, Castile, Aragon, Leon. 

Locate Lombardy, Sicily, Pisa, Genoa, Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples, Venice, 
Salerno, Legnano, Padua, Bologna, Savoy. 

Locate London, Hastings, Oxford, Runnymede, Lewes, Bosworth, Dover, Ban- 
nockburn.— Locate the Netherlands (Low Countries), Flanders, Bouvines, Courtrai, 
Ghent, Bruges, Rosebecque, Aix-la-Chapelle.— Describe the Indus, Rhine, Rhone, 
Danube, Seine, Loire.— Point out Bavaria, Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, Thuringia, 
Basle, Prague, Worms, Waiblingen. 

Point out the French provinces ; Normandy, Provence, Aqnitaine, Brittany, Bur- 
gundy, Champaigne, Maine, Anjou, Toulouse, Valois, Navarre, Gascony, Lorraine, 
Armagnac, Alsace, Franche Comte.— Locate Granson, Morat, Nancy, Morgarten, 
Senipach, Geneva. 



13 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 

alities.* Heretofore the history of one great nation has been 
that of the ciyilized world, changing its name only as power 
passed, from time to time, into the hands of a different 
people. Henceforth there are to be not one but many cen- 
ters of civilization. 

Teutonic Settlements. — The Teutons or Germans 
(p. 16) were the chief heirs of Rome. By the 6th century 
the Vandals had estabhshed a province in northern Africa ; 
the Visigoths had set up a Gothic kingdom in Spain and 
southern Gaul (Anc. Peo., p. 268) ; the Franks, under Clovis, 
had firmly planted themselves in northern Gaul; the j^wr- 
gtindians had occupied south-eastern Gaul ; and the Anglo- 
Saxons had crossed the channel and conquered a large part' 
of Britain. 

The Ostrogotlis, under Theodoric (489), climbed the Alps 
and overthrew Odoacer, king of Italy (Anc. Peo., p. 269). 
Theodoric established his government at Ravenna, under a 
nominal commission from the Emperor of Constantinople. 
The Visigoths accepted him as chief, and his kingdom ulti- 
mately extended from the heart of Spain to the Danube. 
An Arian, he yet favored the Catholics ; and, though unable 
to read or write, encouraged learning. "The fair-haired 
Goths," says Collier, " still wearing their furs and brogues, 
carried the sword ; while the Romans, wrapped in the flow- 
ing toga, held the pen and filled the schools." 

Character of the Teutonic Conquest, f — In Italy, 

* The thoughtful student of history sees in the Middle Ages a time not of decay, 
but of preparation ; a period during which the seeds of a better growth were germi- 
nating in the soil. Amid feudal chaos, the nations were being molded, language was 
formin.s, thought taking shape, and social forces were gathering that were to bear 
mankind to a higher civilization than the world had ever seen, 

t While the Teutonic conquest, in the end, brought into Mediaeval civilization a 
new force, a sense of personal liberty, and domestic virtues unknown to the Ro- 
mans, yet, at the time, it seemed an undoing of the best work of ages. During the 
merciless massacre that lasted for centuries upon the island of Britain, the priests 
were slain at the altar, the churches burned, and the inhabitants nearly annihilated j 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

Gaul, and Spain, the various Teutonic tribes did not expel, 
but absorbed, the native population. The two races 
gradually blended. Out of the mingling of the German 
and the Roman speech, there grew up in time the Ro- 
mance languages — Spanish, Italian, and French. Latin, 
however, was for centuries used in writing. Thus the 
Roman names and forms remained after the emjoire had 
fallen. The invaders adopted the laws, civilization, and 
Christian religion of the conquered. The old clergy retained 
their places, and their influence was greatly increased ; the 
churches became a common refuge, and the bishops the 
only protectors of the poor and weak. 

On the contrary, the Anglo-Saxons, who conquered 
Britain, enslaved or drove back the few natives who sur- 
vived the horrors of the invasion. Not having been, while 
in Germany, brought in contact with the Roman power, 
these Teutons had no respect for its superior civilization. 
They did not, therefore, adopt either the Roman language 
or religion. Christianity came at a later day ; while the Eng- 
lish speech is still in its essence the same that our forefathers 
brought over from the wilds of Germany. 

The Eastern, Greek, or Byzantine Empire, as it is 
variously called, was governed by effeminate princes until 
the time of Justinian (527), who won back a large part of 



while the Eoman and Christian civilization was blotted out, and a barbaric rule 
set up in its place. The Vandals in Spain (Anc. Peo., p. 269) found fertile, populous 
Eoman provinces ; they left behind them a desert. The Burgiindians were the 
mildest of the Teutonic conquerors, yet where they settled they compelled the in- 
habitants to give up two-thirds of the land, one-half of the houses, gardens, groves, 
etc., and one-third of the slaves. Italy, under the ravages of the terrible Lombards 
and other northern hordes, became a " wilderness overgrown with brushwood and 
black with stagnant marshes." Its once cultivated fields were barren ; a few miser- 
able people wandered in fear among the ruins of the churches— their hiding-places- 
while the land was covered with the bones of the slain. Rome became almost as 
desolate as Babylon. "The baths and temples had been spared by the barbarians, 
and the water still poured through the mighty aqueducts, but at one time there were 
not five hundred persons dwelling among the magnificent ruins," 



14 MEDIAEVAL PEOPLES. 

the lost empire. His famous general Belisarius captured 
Carthage,* and oyerwhelmed the Vandal power in Africa. 
He next invaded Italy and took Rome, but being recalled by 
Justinian, who was envious of the popularity of his great 
general, the eunuch Narses was sent thither, and, under his 
skillful management, the very race and name of the Ostro- 
goths perished. Italy was now united to the Eastern 
Empire, and governed by rulers called the Exarchs of 
Ravenna. So Justinian reigned over both Old and New 
Rome. 

The Roman lavos, at this time, consisted of the decrees, 
and often the chance expressions of the three-score emperors 
from Hadrian to Justinian. They filled thousands of vol- 
umes, and were frequently contradictory. Tribonian, a 
celebrated lawyer, was employed to bring order out of this 
chaos. He condensed the laws into a code that is still the 
basis of the civil law of Europe. 

During this reign, two Persian monks, who had gone to 
China as Christian missionaries, brought back to Justinian 
the eggs of the silk- worm concealed in a hollow cane. Silk 
manufacture was thus introduced into Europe. 

The Lombards (568), a fierce German tribe, after Jus- 
tinian's death poured into Italy and overran the fruitful 
plain that still bears their name. For about 200 years the 
Lombard kings shared Italy with the Exarchs of Ravenna. 

The Papacy. — During these centuries of change, confu- 
sion, and ruin, the Christian Church had alone retained its 

* Among the treasures of Carthage were the sacred vessels of the temple at Jeru- 
salem taken by Titus to Rome, and thence carried to Carthage by Genseric. As 
these relics were thought to presage ruin to the city which kept them, they were 
now returned to the Cathedral at Jerusalem, and their subsequent fate is unknown. 
According to the legend, contradicted by many historians but eagerly seized by 
poets and painters, Belisarius in his old age was falsely accused of treason, degraded 
from his honors, and deprived of his sight : often thereafter the blind old man was 
to be seen standing at the Cathedral door, begging " a penny for Belisarius, the 
general." 



INTRODUCTION. 



15 



organization. The barbarians, even the Lombards — the 
most cruel of all — were in time converted to Christianity. 
The people who^ until the overthrow of the emperor, had 
been accustomed to depend upon Rome for political guid- 
ance, naturally continued to look thither for spiritual con- 
trol, and the Bishop of Rome insensibly became the head of 
the Catholic Church. Thus for centuries the Papacy (Lat. 
Papa, a bishop) kept gaining strength, the Christian fathers 
Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, G-regory the Great, and a host 
of other active intellects, shaping its doctrines and disci- 
pline. Finally "a new Rome rose from the aslies of the 
old, far miglitier than the vanished empire, for it claimed 
dominion over the spirits of men." 

The Patriarch of Constantinople also asserted the pre- 
eminence of his See, and, on account of the opposition he 
met from Rome, the Eastern, or G-reek, church gradually 
separated from the Western, or Roman, in interest, disci- 
pline, and doctrine. 




THE PAPAL INSIGNIA. 



16 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



EARLY G-ERMAN CIVILIZATION. 

Two thousand years ago, in tlie dense forests and gloomy marshes 
of a rade, bleak land, dwelt a gigantic, white-skinned, blue-eyed, yel- 
low-haired race — our German ancestors. 

Tlie Men, fierce and powerful, wore over their huge bodies a short 
girdled cloak, or the skin of some wild beast, whose head, with pro- 
truding tusks or horns, formed a hideous setting for their bearded faces 
and cold, cruel eyes. Brave, hospitable, restless, ferocious, they wor- 
shipped freedom, and were ready to fight to the death for their personal 
independence. They cared much less for agriculture than for hunting, 
and delighted in war. Their chief vices were gambling and drunken- 
ness; their conspicuous virtues were truthfulness and respect for 
woman. 

The Women — massive like the men, and wooed with a marriage 
gift of war-horse, shield, and weapons — spun and wove, cared for the 
household, tilled the ground, and went with their lords to battle, where 
their shouts rang above the clash of the spear and the thud of the war- 
axe. They held religious festivals, at which no man was allowed to be 
present, and they were believed to possess a special gift of foresight ; 
yet, for all that, the Teuton wife was bought from her kindred and 
was subject to her spouse. As priestesses, they cut the throats of war- 
captives and read portents in the flowing blood ; and after a lost battle 
they killed themselves beside their slaughtered husbands. 

The Home — when there was one— was a hut made of logs filled in 
with platted withes, straw, and lipie, and covered by a thatched roof, 
which also sheltered the cattle. Here the children were reared, hard- 
ened from their babyhood with ice-cold baths, given weapons for play- 
things, and for bed a bear's hide laid on the ground. Many tribes were 
such lawless wanderers that they knew not the meaning of home, and 
all hated the confinement of walled towns or cities, which they likened 
to prisons. 

Civil Institutions and Government.— Every tribe had its 
nobles, freemen, freedmen, and slaves. When there was a king, he 
was elected from a royal family — the traditional descendants of the 
divine Woden. All freemen had equal rights and a personal voice in 
the government ; the freedman or peasant was allowed to bear arms, 
but not to vote ; the slave was classed with the beast as the absolute 
property of his owner. 

The Land belonging to a tribe was divided into districts, hun- 
dreds, and marks. The inhabitants of a mark were usually kindred, 
who dwelt on scattered homesteads and held its unoccupied lands in 



INTRODUCTION". 17 

common. The mark and the hundred, as well as the district, had each 
its own stated open air assembly, where were settled t»he petty local dis- 
putes ; its members sat together in the tribal assembly, and fought side 
by side in battle. (Compare with Greeks, Anc. Peo., p. 192.) 

The General Assembly of the tribe was also held in the open air, 
near some sacred tree, at new or full moon. Hither flocked all the 
freemen in full armor. The night was spent in noisy discussion and 
festive carousal. As the great ox-horns of ale or mead were passed 
from hand to hand, measures of gravest importance were adopted by a 
ringing clash of weapons or rejected with cries and groans, till the whole 
forest resounded with the tumult. When the din became intolerable, 
silence was proclaimed in the name of the gods. The next day the few 
who were still sober reconsidered the night's debate and gave a final 
decision. 

The Family was the unit of German society. Every household 
was a little republic, its head being responsible to the community for 
its acts. The person and the home were sacred, and no law could 
seize a man in his own house ; in extreme cases, his well might be 
choked up and his dwelling fired or unroofed, but no one presumed to 
break open his door. As each family redressed its own wrongs, a slain 
kinsman was an appeal to every member for vengeance. The bloody 
complications to which this system led were, in later times, mitigated 
by the weregeld, a legal tariff of compensations by which even a mur- 
derer (if not wilful) might " stop the feud" by paying a prescribed sum 
to the injured family. (See p. 42.) 

Fellowship in Arms.— The stubbornness with which the Ger- 
man resisted personal coercion was equaled by his zeal as a voluntary 
follower. From him came the idea of giving service for reward, which 
afterward expanded into Feudalism (p. 102), and influenced European 
society for hundreds of years. In time of war, young freemen were 
wont to bind themselves together under a chosen leader, whom they 
hoisted on a shield and thus, amid the clash of arms and smoke of 
sacrifice, formally adopted as their chief. Henceforth they rendered him 
an unswerving devotion. On the field they were his body-guard, and 
in peace they lived upon his bounty, sharing in the rewards of victory. 
For a warrior to return alive from a battle in which his leader was 
slain was a life-long disgrace. — These voluntary unions formed the 
strength of the army. The renown of a successful chief spread to other 
tribes ; presents and embassies were sent to him ; his followers multi- 
plied and his conquests extended until, at last — as in the Saxon inva- 
sions of England — he won for himself a kingdom and made princes of 
his bravest liegemen. 

The Gerraans fought with clubs, lances, axes, arrows, and 
spears. They roused themselves to action with a boisterous war-song, 



18 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES 




ELEVATING ON THE SHIELD. 



increasing: the frightful clamor by placing their hollow shields before 
their faces. Metal armor and helmets were scarce, and their shields 
were made of wood or platted twigs * Yet when Julius Caesar crossed 
the Rhine, even his iron-clad legions failed to daunt these sturdy war- 
riors, who boasted that they upheld the heavens with their lances, and 
had not slept under a roof for years. They fiercely resisted the encroach- 
ments of their southern invaders, and when, at the close of the second 
century A, d. the Emperor Commodus bought with gold the peace he 
could not win with the sword, he found that one tribe alone had taken 
fifty thousand, and another one hundred thousand "Roman prisoners. 

The Teutonic Religion encouraged bravery and even reckless- 
ness in battle, for it taught that only those who fell by the sword could 
enter Walhalla, the palace of the great god Woden, whither they 

* What they lacked in armor they made up in pluck and endurance. When the 
Cimbri invaded Italy by way of the Tyrol (102 b. c), they stripped their huge bodies 
and plunged into the frozen snow, or, sitting on their gaudy shields, coasted down 
the dangerous descents with shouts of savage laughter, while the Komans in the 
passes below looked on In wondering dismay. 



I if T R O D U C T 1 K . 19 

mounted on the rainbow, and where thoy fought and feasted forever. 
Those who died of illness or old age went to a land of ice and fogs. 
The gods — including the sun, moon, and other powers of nature— were 
worshiped in sacred groves, on lieaths and lioly mountains, or under 
single, gigantic trees. Human sacrifices were sometimes offered, but 
tlie favorite victim, as in ancient Persia, was a liorse, the flesh of whicli 
was cooked and eaten by the worshipers. In later times, the eating of 
horseflesli became a mark of distinction between heathen and Christian. 
Our week-days perpetuate the names under which some of the chief 
Teutonic gods were known. Thus we have the Sun-dsij, the Moo?i-day, 
Tui's day, Woden's day, Thor's day, Freya-da.y, and Sceter-d&y. 

Agriculture, Arts, and Letters. — Among the forests and 
marshes of Germany, the Romans found cultivated fields and rich pas- 
tures. There were neither roads nor bridges, but for months in the 
year the great rivers were frozen so deeply that an army could pass on 
the ice. From the iron in the mountains the men made domestic, 
farming, and war utensils, and from the flax in the field the women 
spun and wove garments. There were rude plows for the farm, chariots 
for religious rites, and cars for the war-march ; but beyond these few 
simple arts, the Germans were little better than savages. — The time of 
Christ was near. Over four centuries had. passed since the brilliant 
Age of Pericles in Athens, and three centuries since the founding of 
the Alexandrian library ; Virgil and Horace had laid down their pens, 
and Livy was still at work on his closely- written parchments ; Rome, 
rich in the splendor of the Augustan Age, was founding libraries, es- 
tablishing museums, and bringing forth poets, orators, and statesmen ; 
yet the great nation, whose descendants were to include Goethe, 
Shakspere, and Mendelssohn, had not a native book, knew nothing of 
writing, and shouted its savage war-song to the uproar of rude drums 
and great blasts on the painted horns of a wild bull. 

The Germans in Later Times. — Before even the era of the 
Great Migration (Anc. Peo., p. 266), the fifty tribes had become united 
in vast confederations, chief among which were the Saxons, Allemanni, 
Burgundians, Ooths, Franks, Vandals, and Longobards (Lombards). 
Led sometimes by their hard forest fare, sometimes by the love of ad- 
venture, they constantly sent forth their surplus population to attack 
and pillage foreign lands. For centuries, Germany was like a hive 
whence ever and anon swarmed vast hordes of hardy warriors, who set 
out with their families and goods to find a new home. Legions of 
German soldiers were constantly enlisted to fight under the Roman 
eagles. The veterans returned home with new habits of thought and 
life. Their stories of the magnificence and grandeur of the Mistress of 
the World excited the imagination and kindled the ardor of their lis- 
teners. Gradually the Roman civilization and the glory of the Roman 



20 



MEDI.i;VAL PEOPLES. 



name accomplished what the sword had failed to effect. Around the 
forts along the Rhine, cities grew up, such as Mayence, Worms, Baden, 
Cologne, and Strasburg. The frontier provinces slowly took on the 
habits of luxurious Rome. Merchants came thither with the rich 
fabrics and ornaments of the south and east, and took thence amber, 
fur, and human hair, — for now -that so many Germans had acquired 
fame and power in the Imperial army, yellow wigs had become the 
Roman fashion. Commerce thus steadily filtered down through the 
northern forests, until at last it reached the Baltic Sea. 




GROUP OF ANCIENT ARMS. 



RISE OF THE SARACENS OR ARABS. 

Mohammed. — Now for the first time since the overthrow 
of Carthage by Scipio (Anc. Peo., p. 235), a Semitic people 
comes to the front in history. Early in the 7th century 
there arose in Arabia a reformer named Mohammed,* who 



* Mohammed, or Mahomet, was born at Mecca about 570 A, d. Left ati orphan at 
an early age, he became a camel-driver, and finally entered the service of a rich 
widow named Khadijah. She was so pleased with his fidelity, that she offered him 
her hand, although she was forty and he but twenty-five years old. He was now 
free to indulge his taste for meditation, and often retired to the desert, spending 
whole nights in revery. At the age of forty— a mystic number in the East— he de- 
clared that the angel Oabriel had appeared to him in a vision, commissioning him to 
preach a new faith. Khadijah was his first convert. After a time, he publicly re- 
nounced idol-worship, and proclaimed himself a prophet. Persecution waxed hot, 
and he was forced to flee for his life. This era is known among the Moslems 
as the Hegira. Mohammed now took refuge in a cave. His enemies came to the 
mouth, but seeing a spider's web across the entrance, passed on in pursuit. The 
fugitive secured an asylum in Medina, where the new faith spread rapidly, and Mo- 
hammed soon found himself at the head of an army. Full of courage and enthusiasm, 
he aroused his followers to a fanatical devotion. Thus, in the battle of Muta, Jaafer, 



RISE OF THE SARACEN S 



21 




Sea 

of 

-Arabia 



taught a new religion. Its substance was, '' Tliere is but 
one God, and Mohammed is his prophet." Converts were 
made by force of arms. '^ Paradise," said Mohammed, " will 
be found in the shadow of the crossing of swords." The 
only choice given the vanquished was the Koran, tribute, or 
death. Before the close of his stormy life (632), the green- 
robed warrior- j)rophet had subdued the scattered tribes of 
Arabia, destroyed their idols, and united the j^eople in one 
nation. 

The Caliphs, or successors of Mohammed, rapidly fol- 
lowed up the triumphs of the new faith. Syria and Palestine 
were conquered. When Jerusalem opened its gates, Omar, 
the second caliph, austere and ascetic, rode thither from 
Medina upon a red-haired camel, carrying a bag of rice, one 
of dates, and a leathern bottle of water. The mosque bear- 



when his right hand was struck off, seized the banner in his left, and, when the left 
was severed, he still embraced the flag with the bleeding stumps, and fell only when 
pierced by fifty wounds.— Mohammed made known his doctrines in fragments, which 
his followers wrote upon sheep-bones and palm-leaves. His successor, Abou Beker, 
collected these pretended revelations into the Koran— the sacred book of the Moham- 
piedans, 



^2 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. \ [668. 

ing his name still stands on the site of the ancient Temple. 
Persia was subdued, and the religion of Zoroaster nearly 
extinguished. Forty-six years after Mohammed's flight 
from Mecca, the scimiters of the Saracens were seen from 
the walls of Constantinople. During one siege of seven 
years (668-675), and another of thirteen months, nothing 
saved New Kome but the torrents of Greek fire* that 
poured from its battlements. Meanwhile, Egypt fell, and, 
after the capture of Alexandria, the flames of its four thou- 
sand baths f were fed for six months with the priceless man- 
uscripts from the library of the Ptolemies. Still westward 
through Northern Africa the Arabs made their way, until at 
last their leader spurred his horse into the waves of the 
Atlantic, exclaiming, '' Be my witness, God of Mohammed, 
that earth is wanting to my courage, rather than my zeal dn 
thy service ! " 

Saracens Invade Europe.— In 711 the turbaned Mos- 
lems crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. Spain was quickly 
overrun, and a Moorish J kingdom finally established that 
lasted until the year of the discovery of America (p. 99). 
The Mohammedan leader boasted that he would yet enter 
Eome and preach in the Vatican, capture Constantinople, 
and then, having overthrown the Roman Empire and Chris- 
tianity, he would return to Damascus and lay his vic- 
torious sw^ord at the feet of the caliph. Soon the fearless 
riders of the desert poured through the passes of the Pyrenees 
and devastated southern Gaul. But on the plain of Tours 

* This consisted of naphtha, sulphur, and pitch. It was often hurled in red-hot, 
hollow balls of iron, or blown through copper tubes fancifully shaped in imitation of • 
savage monsters, that seemed to vomit forth a stream of liquid fire. 

t Gibbon rejects this story ; but the current statement is that Omar declared, "If 
the manuscripts agree with the Koran, they are useless ; if they disagree, they should 
be destroyed." 

X The Saracens in Spain are usually called Moors— a term originally applied to the 
dark-colored natives of northern Africa. 



732.] 



RISE V THE S A K A C E N S . 



23 







CHARLES MARTEL AT THE BATTLE OF TOURS. 



(732) the Saracen host met the Franks (p. 25). On the 
seventh day of the struggle the Cross triumphed over the 
Crescent, and Europe was saved. Charles, the leader of the 
Franks, received henceforth the name of Martel (the ham- 
mer) for the valor with which he pounded the Infidels on 
that memorable field. The Moslems never ventured north- 
ward again, and ultimately retired behind the barriers of the 
Pyrenees. 

Extent of the Arab Dominion. — Exactly a century 
had now elapsed since the death of Mohammed, and the 
Saracen rule reached from the Indus to the Pyrenees. No 
empire of antiquity had such an extent. Only Oreek fire on 
the East and German valor on the West had prevented the 
Moslem power from girdling the Mediterranean. 

Saracen Divisions. — For a time this vast empire held 



24 Medieval pp:oples. [sod. 

together, and one caliph was obeyed alike in Spain and in 
Sinde. But disputes arose concerning the succession, and 
the empire was diyided between the Ommiades — descendants 
of Omar — who reigned at Cordova, and the Abbassides — 
descendants of the prophet's uncle — who located their capital 
at Bagdad. 

The year 800, when Charlemagne was crowned Emperor, 
at Kome (p. 27), saw two riyal emperors among the Chris- 
tians and two rival caliphs among the Mohammedans. As 
the Germans had before this pressed into the Eoman Empire, 
so now the Turks invaded the Arab Empire. The caliph 
of Bagdad formed his body-guard of Turks — a policy that 
proved as fatal as enlisting the Goths into the legions of 
Eome, for the Turks eventually stripped the caliphs of 
their possessions in Asia and Africa. As the Teutons took 
the religion of the Romans, so also the Turks accepted the 
faith of the Arabs ; and as the Franks ultimately became 
the valiant supporters of Christianity, so the Turks became 
the ardent apostles of the Koran. 



Saracen Civilization. — The furious fanaticism of the Arabs 
early changed into a love for the arts of peace. Omar with his leathern 
bottle and bag of dates was followed by men who reigned in palaces 
decorated with arabesques and adorned with flower-gardens and foun- 
tains. The caliphs at Cordova and Bagdad became rivals in luxury 
and learning, as well as in politics and religion. Under the fostering 
care of Haroun al Raschid, the hero of the "Arabian Nights" and con- 
temporary of Charlemagne, Bagdad became the home of poets and 
scholars. The Moors in Spain erected structures whose magnificence 
and grandeur are yet attested by the ruins of the mosque of Cordova 
and the palace of the Alhambra. The streets of the cities were paved 
and lighted. The houses were frescoed and carpeted, warmed in 
winter by furnaces, and cooled in summer by perfumed air. 

Amid the ignorance which enveloped Europe during the Dark Ages, 
the Saracen Empire was dotted over with schools, to which students 
resorted from all parts of the world. There were colleges in Mongolia, 
Tartary, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Morocco, Fez, and Spain. The 



RISE OF THE F K A N K I S n EMPIRE. 25 

vizier of a sultan consecrated 200,000 pieces of fjold to found a college 
at Bagdad. A physician refused to go to Bokhara, at the invitation 
of the Sultan, on the plea that his private library would make four 
liundred camel-loads. Great public libraries were collepted — one at 
Cairo being said to number 100,000 volumes, and the one of the Spanish 
caliphs, 600,000. 

In science, the Arabs adopted the inductive method of Aristotle 
(Anc. Peo., p. 176), and pushed their experiments into almost every 
line of study. They originated chemistry, discovering alcohol and 
nitric and sulphuric acids. They understood the laws of falling bodies, 
of specific gravity, of the mechanical powers, and the general principles 
of light. They applied the pendulum to the reckoning of time ; ascer- 
tained the size of the earth by measuring a degree of latitude ; made 
catalogues of the stars ; introduced the game of chess ; employed in 
mathematics the Indian method of numeration ; gave to algebra and 
trigonometry their modern forms ; brought into Europe cotton manu- 
facture ; invented the printing of calico with wooden blocks ; and forged 
the Damascus and Toledo scimiters, whose temper is still the wonder 
of the world. 



RISE OF THE FRANKISH KINaDOM. 

The Franks, a German race, laid the foundation of France 
and Germany, and during nearly four centuries their history 
is that of both these countries. The conversion to Chris- 
tianity of their chieftain Clovis was the turning-point in 
their career. In the midst of a great battle, he invoked the 
God of Clotilda, his wife, and vowed, if victorious, to em- 
brace her faith. The tide of disaster turned, and the grate- 
ful king, with three thousand of his bravest warriors, was 
soon after baptized at Rheims (496). The whole power of 
the Church was now enlisted in his cause, and he rapidly 
pushed his triumphal arms to the Pyrenees. He fixed his 
capital at Paris and established the Merovingian, or first 
Prankish dynasty (Brief Hist. France, p. 13). 

The Descendants of Clovis were at first wicked, then 
weak, until finally all power fell into the hands of the prime 
minister, or Mayor of the Palace. We have already heard 



26 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [733. 

of one of these Mayors, Charles Martel, on the field of Tours. 
His son, the famous Pepin the Short, after his accession to 
office, wrote to the Pope, asking whether he who had the 
authority of king ought not to have the name. Eeceiving 
an affirmative reply, Pepin sent Childeric — the last of the 
"do-nothing" monarchs — shorn of his long, yellow, royal 
locks, into a monastery, and was himself lifted on a shield, 
and declared king. Thus the Carlovingian, or second 
Prankish dynasty, was established (752). At the request 
of the Pope, then hard pressed by the Lombards, Pepin 
crossed the Alps and conquered the province of Eavenna, 
which he gave to the Holy See. This donation was the 
origin of the temporal power of the Pope. 

With Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Pepin's son, 
began a new era in the history of Europe. His plan was to 
unite the fragments of the old Roman Empire. To effect 
this, he used two powerful sentiments — patriotism and re- 
ligion. Thus, while he cherished the institutions which 
the Teutons loved, he protected the Church and carried 
the cross at the head of his army. He undertook fifty- 
three expeditions against twelve different nations. Gauls, 
Saxons, Danes, Saracens* — all felt the prowess of his arms. 
Entering Italy, he defeated the Lombards, and placed upon 
his own head their famous iron crown. After thirty-three 
years of bloody war, his sceptre was acknowledged from the 
German Ocean to the Adriatic, and from the Channel to the 
Lower Danube. His renown reached the far East, and 
Haroun al Raschid sought his friendship, sending him an 

* While Charlemagne's army, on its return from Spain, was passing through the 
narrow pass of Eoncesvalles, the rear-guard was attacked by the Basques. The 
famous Paladin, Roland, long refused to blow his horn for aid, but with his dying 
breath he signaled Charlemagne, who returned too late to save his gallant comrades. 
Centuries have passed since that fatal day, but " the Basque peasant still sings of 
Roland and Charlemagne, and still the traveler seems to see the long line of white 
turbans and swarthy faces winding slowly through the woods, and Arab spear-heads 
glittering in the sun." 



800.] 



RISE OF THE FRANKISII EMPIRE 



27 



C^A^^ 



a B R 3r A N 
C E A ^' 

.N li T iry- 



;l>€>r 










Norrna''V>V Rbeims;^ ^> ^Z >r{ ....-■''>, _,.r\^- . Mora,.,- 




MAP OF THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE. 



elephant (an animal never before seen by the Franks), and a 
clock which struck the hours. 

Charlemagne Crowned Emperor.— On Christmas day, 
800, as Charlemagne was bending in prayer before the high 
altar of St. Peter's at Eome, Pope Leo unexpectedly placed 
on his head the crown of the Caesars. The Western Empire 
was thus restored; the old empire was finally divided; there 
were two emperors — one at Eome, and one at Constantino- 
ple ; and from this time the Eoman emperors were " Kings 
of the Franks." They lived very little at Eome, however. 



28 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



[768-814. 



and spoke German, Latin being the language only of religion 
and government. 




CHARLEMAGNE CROWNED. 



Government. — ^Charlemagne sought to organize bylaw 
the various peoples he had conquered by the sword. His 
vast empire was divided into districts governed by counts. 
Royal delegates visited each district four times a year, to 
redress grievances and administer justice. Diets took the 
place of the old German armed assemblies. A series of 
capitularies was issued, containing the laws and the advice 
of the Emperor. But the work of Charlemagne's life per- 
ished with him. 

A Division of the Frankish Empire.— His feeble son 
Louis quickly dissipated this vast inheritance among his 
children. They quarreled over their respective shares, and, 
after Louis's death, fought out their dispute on the field of 
Fontenay. This dreadful " Battle of the Brother^ '^ was fol- 



843.] 



RISE Oi' THE FRANKISH EMPJKE. 



lowed by the Treaty of Verdun (843), which divided the 
empire among them. 

Beginnings of France and Germany. — Lo thai re's 
kingdom was called after him Lotharingia, and a part of it 
is still known as Lorraine. Louis's kingdom was termed 
East Frankland, but the word Deutsch (Grerman) soon 
came into use, and Germany in 1843 celebrated its 1000th 
anniversary, dating from the treaty of Verdun. Charles's 
kingdom w^as styled West Frankland (Lat. Francia, whence 
the word France) ; its monarch still cluug to his Teutonic 
dress and manners, but the separation from Germany was 
fairly accomplished ; the two countries spoke different lan- 
guages, and Charles the Bald is ranked as the first king 
of France. 

Thus, during the 9th century, the map of Europe began 
to take on something of its present appearance, and, for the 
first time, we may venture to use the geographical divisions 
now familiar to us, though they were still far from having 
their present meaning. 

Charlemagne and 
his Court. — In person, 
dress, speech, and tone of 
mind, Charlemagne was a 
true German. Large, erect, 
muscular, with a clear eye 
and dignified but gracious 
manner, his shrill voice and 
short neck were fqrgotten 
in the general grandeur of 
his presence. Keen to de- 
tect, apt to understand, pro- 
found to grasp, and quick 
to decide, he impressed all 
who knew him with a sense 
of his power. Like his rude 
ancestors of centuries be- 
fore, he was hardv in his charlemagne. 




30 MEDi-aSYAL PEOPLES. 

habits and unconcerned about his dress ; but, unlike them, he was strictly 
temperate -in food and drink. Drunkenness he abhorred. In the 
industrial schools which he established, his own daughters were taught 
to work, and the garments he commonly wore were woven by their 
hands. He discouraged useless extravagance in his courtiers, and once 
when hunting — he in his simple Frankish dress and sheepskin cloak, 
they in silk and tinsel-embroidered robes — he led them through mire 
and brambles in the midst of a furious storm of wind and sleet, and 
afterward obliged them to dine in their torn and bedraggled fineries. 
Twice in his life he wore a foreign dress, and that was at Rome, where 
he assumed a robe of purple and gold, encircled his brow with jewels 
and decorated even his sandals with precious stones. His greatest 
pride was in his sword, Joyeuse, the handle of which bore his signet, 
and he was wont to say, " With my sword I maintain all to which I 
aflBx my seal." Generous to his friends, indulgent to his children, and 
usually placable to his enemies, his only acts of cruelty were perpe- 
trated on the Saxons, who, true to the Teutonic passion for independ- 
ence, for thirty-three years fought and struggled against him. Even 
when by his orders forty-five hundred were beheaded in one day, these 
doughty warriors continued to rebel till hopelessly subdued. 

The Imperial Palaces were magnificent, and the one at Aix-la- 
Chapelle was so luxurious that people called it "Little Rome." It 
contained extensive halls, galleries, and baths for swimming — an art 
in which Charlemagne excelled, mosaic pavements and porphyry 
pillars from Ravenna, and a college, library, and theatre. There were 
gold and silver tables, sculptured drinking-cups, and elaborately carved 
wainscoting, while the courtiers, dressed in gay and richly-wrought 
robes, added to the sumptuousness of the surroundings. This brilliant 
emperor gave personal attention to his difierent estates ; he prescribed 
what trees and flowers should grow in his gardens, wliat meat and 
vegetables should be kept in store, and even how the stock and poultry 
should be fed and housed. 

The College at Aix-la-Chapelle was presided over by Alcuin, an 
Anglo-Saxon monk whom Charlemagne had invited to his court — for 
he surrounded himself with scholars rather than warriors. With his 
learned favorites and royal household the Great King devoted himself 
to science, belles-letters, music, and the languages, and became, next to 
Alcuin, the best-educated man of the age. It was an arousing of 
literature from a sleep of centuries, and while Alcuin explained the 
theories of Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Plato, or quoted Homer, Virgil, 
and Pliny, the delighted listeners were fired with a passion for learning. 
In their enthusiasm they took the names of their classical favorites, 
and Homer, Pindar, Virgil, Horace, and Calliope, sat down together 
in the Frankish court, the king himself appearing as the royal 



RISE OF MODERN- NATIOKS — ENGLAND. 31 

Hebrew, David. Besides this court school, Charlemagne organized at 
Paris the first European university, established academies throughout 
tlie Empire, and required that every monastery which he founded or 
endowed should support a school. He encouraged the copying of 
ancient manuscripts and corrected the text of the Greek gospels. Like 
Pliny, he had books read to him at meals — St. Augustine being his 
favorite author — and, like Pisistratus, he collected the scattered frag- 
ments of the ancient national ]3oetry. He even began a German gram- 
mar, an experiment which was not repeated for hundreds of years. 
Yet, though he mastered Latin, read Greek and some oriental lan- 
guages, delighted in astronomy, attempted poetry, and was learned in 
rhetoric and logic, this great king stumbled on the simple art of writ- 
ing ; and though he kept his tablets under his pillow that he might 
press every waking moment into service, the hand that could so easily 
wield the ponderous iron lance was conquered by the pen. 

Wonderful indeed was the electricity of this powerful nature, the 
like of which had not been seen since the day of Julius Cgesar and was 
not to reappear until the day of Charles V. But no one man can make 
a civilization. "In vain," says Duruy, "did Charlemagne kindle the 
flame ; it was only a passing torch in the midst of a profound night. 
In vain did he strive to create commerce and trace with his ow^n hand 
the plan of a canal to connect the Danube and the Rhine : the ages of 
commerce and industry were yet far distant. In vain did he unite 
Germany into one vast empire ; even while he lived he felt it breaking 
in his hands. And this vast and wise organism, this revived civiliza- 
tion, all disappeared with him who called it forth." 



RISE OF MODERN NATIONS. 

"We will next sketch tlie early political history of the prin- 
cipal European nations, and see how, amid the darkness of 
the Middle Ages, the foundations of the modern states were 
slowly laid. 

I. ENGLAND. 

The Four Conquests of England. — (1.) Roman Con- 
quest. — About a century after Caesar's invasion, Agricola 
reduced Britain to a Roman proyince (Anc. Peo., p. 249). 
Walls were built to keep back the Highland Celts ; paved 
roads were constructed; fortified towns sprang up in the 



32 



EDI^VAL PEOPLES. 



[410. 




THE FOUR CONQUESTS OF ENGLAND. 



track of the legions ; and the young natives learned to talk 
Latin, wear the toga, and frequent the bath. 

(2.) Anglo-Saxon Conquest — While Alaric was thundering 
at the gates of Eome (Anc. Peo., p. 267), the legions were 
recalled to Italy. The wild Celts of the north now swarmed 
oyer the deserted walls, and ravaged the country. The 
Britons, in their extremity, appealed to Horsa and Hen- 
gist, two German adventurers then cruising off their coast. 
These drove back the Celts, rewarding themselves by seizing 
the land they had delivered. Fresh bands of Teutons — 
chiefly Angles (English) and Saxons — followed, driving the 
remaining Britons into Wales. The petty pagan kingdoms 



827.] KISK or MODERN K AT I K S — E N U L A N D. 33 

which the Germans established (known as the Saxon Hep- 
tarchy) were continually at war, but Christianity was intro- 
duced by St. Augustine,* and they were finally united in 
one nation (827) by King Egbert, a contemporary and friend 
of Charlemagne. 

(3.) Danish Conquest. — During the 9th century, England, 
like France (p. 48) and Germany, was ravaged by hordes of 
northern pirates. In their light boats they ascended the 
rivers and, landing, seized horses and scoured the country, to 
plunder and slay. Mercy seemed to them a crime, and they 
destroyed all they could not remove. The Danish invaders 
were finally beaten back by Egbert's grandson, f Alfred the 
Great (871-901), and order was restored so that, according 
to the old chroniclers, a bracelet of gold could be left hang- 
ing by the roadside without any one daring to touch it. 
A century later, the Northmen came in greater numbers, 
bent on conquering the country, and the Danish king 
Canute (Knut) J won the English crown (1017). 

(4.) Norman Conquest. — The English soon tired of the 
reckless rule of Canute's sons, and called to the throne 
Edward the Confessor (1042), who belonged to the old 



* Gregory, when a deacon, was once attracted by the beauty of some light-haired 
boys in the Koman slave-market. Being told that they were Angles, he replied, 
"Not Angles, but angels." When he became Pope, he remembered the fair cap- 
tives, and sent a band of monks under St. Augustine, as missionaries to England. 
They landed on the same spot where Hengist had nearly 150 years before. 

t The early chronicles abound in romantic stories of this "best of England's 
kings." While a fugitive from the Danes, he took refuge in the hut of a swineherd. 
One day the housewife had him turn some cakes that were baking upon the hearth. 
Absorbed in thought the young king forgot his task. When the good woman 
returned, finding the cakes burned, she roundly scolded him for his carelessness. 

X Many beautiful legends illustrate the character of this wonderful man. One 
day his courtiers told him that his power was so great that even the sea obeyed him. 
To rebuke this foolish flattery, the king seated himself by the shore, and ordered the 
waves to retire. But the tide rose higher and higher, until, finally, the surf dashed 
over his person. Turning to his flatterers, he said, "Ye see now how weak is the 
power of kings and of all men. Honor then God only and serve Him, for Him do all 
things obey." On going back to Winchester, he hung his crown over the crucifix 
on the high altar, and never wore it again. 



34 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [1066. 

Saxon line. On his death, Harold was chosen king. But 
William, duke of Normandy (p. 50), claimed that Edward 
had promised him the succession, and his cousin, Harold, 
had ratified the pledge. A powerful Norman army accord- 
ingly invaded England. Harold was slain in the battle of 
Hastings, and on Christmas day, 1066, William was crowned 
in Westminster Abbey as king of England. 

The following table contains the names of the English kings from 
the time of the conquest to the end of the Middle Ages, The limits of 
this history forbid a description of their separate reigns, and permit 
only a consideration of the events that, during this period of four cen- 
turies, were conspicuous in the " Making of England." 






William the Conquekob (lOeG-'ST). 

I 



William Kufus (1087-1100). Henkt Beaucleec. Adela, m. Stephen, 

(1100 -'35). of Blois. 



Stephen (1135-''54). 



Matilda, m. Geoefset 
Plantagenet, of Anjou. 



Hekkx II. (1154-'89). 



Richard Cceue de Lion (1189-'99). John (1199-1216). 



Henkt III. (1216-72). 
Edward I. (1272-1307). 
Edward II. (1807-'27). 
Edward III. (1327-'77). 



I i 

Lionel, Duke op Clarence. Edward the Black Prince 

(Third son of Edward III. ) . | 

Richard II. (13T7-'99). 

?r oTL?nSr. l^o^^ »" °f Edward HI. 

Henry IV. (1399-1413). 

Henry V. (1413-'22). 



Henry VI. (1422-'61). 
f^^ [ Edward IV. (1461-'83). Descendant of Lionel, third son of Edward III. 



mo 

g>H \ Edward V. (1483). With his brother Richard murdered in the Tower. 

'^O L Richard III. (1483-'5). Youngest brother of Edward IV. Fell at Bos worth. 



« 



RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — ENGLAND. 



35 



Results of the Norman Conquest. — A\ illiam took ad- 
vantage of repeated revolts of the English to conquer the 
nation thoronghly, to establish the Feudal system* in Eng- 
land, and to conhscate most of the large domains and confer 

them upon his follow- 
ers. Soon every office 
in church and state 
was filled by the Nor- 
mans. Castles were 
erected, where the new 
nobles lived and lorded 
it over their poor Saxon 
dependants. Crowds 
of Norman workmen 
and traders flocked 
across the channel. 
Thus there were two 
peo^^les living in Eng- 
land, side by side. 
But the Normans were 
kinsfolk of the English, 
being Teutons with 
only a French veneer, 
and the work of union began speedily. Henry I., the 
Conqueror's son, married the niece of Edgar Atheling — 
the last of the Saxon princes ; while, from the reign of 
Henry II., ties of kindred and trade fast made Normans 
and Englishmen undistinguishable. Finally, in Edward I., 
England got a king who was English at heart. 

At first there were two languages spoken — the Norman 
being the fashionable tongue, and the Saxon the common 

* The pupil should here carefully read the sections on Feudalism, etc., p. 102, 
jn order to understand the various feudal terms used in the text. 




WILLIAT.I THE CONQUEROR. 



36 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 

speech ; but slowly, as the two peoples combined, the two 
languages coalesced. 

From time to time, many of the English took to the woods 
and liyed as outlaws, like the famous Eobin Hood in the 
days of Eichard I. But the sturdy Saxon independence and 
the Norman skill and learning gradually blended, giving to 
the English race new life and enterprise, a firmer government, 
more systematic laws, and more permanent institutions. 

The Saxon weapon was the battle-axe ; the Norman gen- 
tleman fought on horseback with the spear, and the footman 
with bow and arrow. Less than three centuries found the 
English yeoman on the field of Crecy (p. 55), under Edward 
HI. and the Black Prince, overwhelming the Erench with 
shafts from their long-bows, and the English knight armed 
cap-a-pie, with helmet on head and lance in hand. 

William, though king of England, still held Normandy, 
and hence remained a vassal of the king of France. This 
complication of English and Erench interests became a 
fruitful source of strife. The successors of Hugh Capet 
(p. 50) were forced to fight a vassal more powerful than 
themselyes, while the Enghsh sovereigns sought to dismember 
and finally to conquer France. Long and bloody wars were 
waged. Nearly five centuries elapsed before the English 
monarchs gave up their last stronghold in that country, and 
were content to be merely British kings. 

Growth of Constitutional Liberty.— 1. Runny mecle and 
Magna Charta.—^iWxd^m. the Conqueror easily curbed the 
powerful English yassals whom- he created. But, during 
the disturbances of succeeding reigns, the barons acquired 
great power, and their castles became mere robbers' nests, 
whence they plundered the common people without mercy. 
The masses now sided with the crown for protection. 
Henry II. established order, reformed the law courts, orr >:(- 



1315.J RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — EKGLAND. 37 

ized nil army, destroyed many of the castles of the tyrannical 
nobles, and created new barons, who, being English, were 
ready to make common cause with the nation. Unfortu- 
nately, Henry alienated the affections of his people by his 
long quarrel with Thomas a Becket, who, as a loyal English 
priest, stood up for the rights of the church — through the 
Middle Ages the refuge of the masses — and opposed to the 
death the increasing power of the Norman king. Henry's 
son, John, brought matters to a crisis, by his brutahty and 
exactions. He imposed taxes at pleasure, wronged the poor, 
and plundered the rich. * At last, the patience of peasant 
and noble alike was exhausted, and the whole nation rose up 
in insurrection. The barons marched with their forces 
against the king, and at Runnymecle (1215) compelled him 
to grant the famous Great Charter. 

Henceforth the king had no right to demand money when 
he pleased, nor to imprison and punish whom he pleased. 
He was to take money only when the barons granted the 
privilege for public purposes, and no freeman was to be pun- 
ished except when his countrymen judged him guilty of 
crime. The courts were to be open to all, and justice was 
not to be " sold, refused or delayed." The serf, or villein, 
was to have his plough free from seizure. The church was 
secured against the interference of the king. No class was 
neglected, but each obtained some cherished right. 

Magna Charta ever since has been the foundation of Eng- 
lish liberty, and, as the kings were always trying to break it, 
they have been compelled, during succeeding reigns, to con- 
firm its provisions thirty-six times. 

2. House of Commo7is. — Henry III., foolishly fond of for- 
eign favorites, yielded to their advice and lavished upon 

* At one time, it is said, he threw into prison a wealthy Jew, who refused to give 
him an enormous sum of money, and pulled out a tooth every day until he paid the 
required amount. 



38 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [13th CENT. 

them large sums of money. Once more the barons rose in 
arms and, under the lead of Simon de Montfort, Earl of 
Leicester — a Frenchman by birth but an Englishman in 
feeling — defeated the king at Leioes. Earl Simon thereupon 
called together the Parliament, summoning, besides the 
barons, two knights from each county, and two citizens 
from each city or borough, to represent the freeholders 
(1265). From this beginning, the English Parliament soon 
took on the form it has since retained, of two assemblies — 
the House of Lords and the House of Commons. By de- 
grees it was established that the Commons should have the 
right of petition for redress of grieyances, and sole power of 
voting taxes. 

The IStli century is thusmemoraile in English History for 
the granting of Magna Gharta and the forming of the 
House of Commons. 

Conquest of Ireland begun. — Henry II., having ob- 
tained permission from the Pope to invade Ireland, author- 
ized an army of adventurers to overrun that island. In 
1171 he visited Ireland, and his sovereignty was generally 
acknowledged. Henceforth the country was under English 
rule, but it remained in disorder, the battle-ground of Irish 
chiefs, and Norman-descended lords who became as savage 
and lawless as those whom they had conquered. 

Conquest of Wales (1283).— The Celts had long pre- 
served their liberty among the mountains of Wales and 
Scotland. Edward I.'s ambition was to rule over the whole 
of the island. When Llewellyn, the Welsh chieftain, refused 
to yield him the usual homage, he invaded the country and 
annexed it to England. To propitiate the Welsh, he prom- 
ised them a native-born king who could not speak a word of 
English, and thereupon presented them his son, born a few 
days before in the Welsh castle of Caernarvon. The young 



1383.] RISE OF MODERN^ NATIONS — ENGLAND. 39 

Edward was afterward styled the Prince of Wales— a title 
since borne by the sovereign's oldest son. 

Conquest of Scotland.— Edward L, having been chosen 
umpire between two claimants for the Scottish throne — 
Robert Bruce and John Baliol, decided in favor of the 
latter, on. condition of his doing homage to the English 
monarch as his feudal lord. The Scots, impatient of their 
vassalage, revolted, whereupon Edward took possession of 
the country as a forfeited fief (1296). Again the Scots rose 
under the patriot William Wallace, but he was defeated, 
taken to London and hanged. They next found a leader in 
Robert Bruce. Edward marched against him, but died in 
sight of Scotland. The English soldiers, however, harried 
the land, and drove Bruce from one hiding-place to another. 
Almost in despair, the patriot lay one day sleepless on his 
bed, where he watched a spider jumping to attach its thread 
to a wall. Six times it failed, but succeeded on the seventh. 
Bruce, encouraged by this simple incident, resolved to try 
again. Success came. Castle after castle fell into his hands, 
until only Stirling remained. Edward IL, going to its 
relief, met Bruce at BannocTcburn (1314). The Scottish 
army was defended by pits, having sharp stakes at the bot- 
tom, and covered at the top with sticks and turf. The 
English knights, galloping to the attack, plunged into these 
hidden holes. In the midst of the confusion, a body of sut- 
lers appeared on a distant hill, and the dispirited English, 
mistaking them for a new army, fled in dismay. 

Scottish Independence was acknowledged (1328).* After 

* It is noticeable that there existed a constant alliance of Scotland and France. 
Whenever, during the 14th and 15th centuries, war broke out between France and 
England, the Scots made a diversion by attacking England, and their soldiers often 
took service in the French armies on the continent. So, if we learn that, at any 
time during this long period, France and England were fighting, it is pretty safe to 
conclude that, along the borders of England and Scotland, there were plundering-raids 
and skirmishes. 



40 MEDIiEVAL PEOPLES. [14th CENT. 

this, many wars arose between Scotland and England, but 
Scotland was never in danger of being conquered. 

The Hundred-Years War with France was the event 
of the 14th and the first half of the 15th century (p. 54). 

Wars of the Roses (1455-'85).— About the middle of 
the 15th century a struggle concerning the succession to the 
English throne arose between the Houses of York and Lan- 
caster, the former being descended from the third, and the 
latter from the fourth son of Edward III. (p. 34). A Civil 
War ensued, known as the Wars of the Eoses, since the 
adherents of the House of York wore, as a badge, a white 
rose, and those of Lancaster, a red one. The contest 
lasted thirty years and twelve pitched battles were fought. 
During this war the House of York seated three kings upon 
the throne. But the last of these, Richard III., a brutal 
tyrant whom prose and poetry* have combined to condemn, 
was slain on the field of Bosivorth, and the red rose placed 
the crown on the head of its representative, Henry VII. 
Thus ended the Plantagenet Line, which had ruled England 
for three centuries ; the new house was called the Tudor 
Line, from Henry's family name. 

The result of this Civil War was the triumph of the 
kingly power over that of the aristocracy. It was a war of 
the nobles and their military retainers. Except in the 
immediate march of the armies, the masses pursued their 
industries as usual. Men plowed and sowed, bought and 
sold, as though it were a time of peace. Both sides pro- 
tected the neutral citizens, but were bent on exterminating 
each other. No quarter was asked or given, f During the 
war, eighty princes of the blood and two hundred nobles 



* Read Shakspere's play, Richard III. 

t When Edward IV. galloped over the field of battle after a victory, he would 
shout, " Spare the soldiers, but slay the gentlemen." 



1485.] KISE OF MODERN N A T I N S — E N G L A N D. 41 

fell by the sword, and half the families of distinction were 
destroyed. The method of holding land was changed, and, 
for the former relation of lord and vassal, was substituted 
that of landlord and tenant. The power of the great 
barons gone, the king had little check, and the succeeding 
monarchs ruled with an authority never before dreamed of 
in English history. Constitutional liberty, Avhich had been 
steadily growing since the day of Eunnymede, now gave 
place to Tudor despotism. The field of Bosworth, moreover, 
marked the downfall of Feudalism; with its disappearance 
the Middle Ages came to an end. 



EARLY ENGLISH CIVILIZATION. 

The Anglo-Saxons. — The German invaders took with them to 
England their old-time traits and customs, in which traces of their 
former paganism lingered long after Christianity was formally adopted. 
Coming in separate bands, each fighting and concjuering for itself, the 
most successful chieftains founded kingdoms. The royal power gradu- 
ally increased, though always subject to the decisions of the Witan, 
which was composed of the earls, the prelates, and the leading thanes 
and clergy. The Witenagemot (Assembly of Wise Men), a modifica- 
tion of the ancient German Assembly, was held at the great Christmas, 
Easter, and Whitsuntide festivals. This body not only elected but 
could depose the king, who was chosen from the royal family * 

The earls or dukes represented the old German nobility ; below them 
were the thanes or gentry, attached to the king and nobles ; and the 
ceo7'ls or yeomen, freemen in name, but often semi-servile in obliga- 
tions. Lowest of all, and not even counted in the population, was a 
host of tliralls, hapless slaves who lay at their master's mercy and were 
sold with the land and cattle — one slave equalling four oxen in value. 
A ceorl who had acquired " fully five hides f of land, church and kitchen, 
hell-house and burh-gate-seat, and special duty in the king's hall," or a 

* Every tribe had its royal family supposed to be descended from Woden. The 
house of Cerdic, the founder of the West-Saxon dynasty, survived the others, and to 
him is traced the pedigree of Queen Victoria. 

t The dimensions of a hide are not known. Some think it was about thirty acres. 
The burh was the home-yard and buildings, entered through a gate in the earth-wall 
enclosure. 



42 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 

mefcliant who liad tlirice crossed the seas on his own account, might 
become a thane ; and in certain cases a slave might earn his freedom. 

Shires, Hundreds, and Tithings.— Ten Anglo-Saxon families 
made a tithing, and by a system of mutual police or frank-pledge, each 
one became bail for the good conduct, of the other nine. Ten tithings 
made a hundred, names which soon came to stand for the soil on which 
they lived. The land conferred in individual estates was called hoTdand 
(book-land) ; that reserved for the public use wasfolkland. 

The weregeld (life-money) and wihtgeld (crime-money) continued in 
force and covered nearly every possible crime, from the murder of a 
king to a bruise on a comrade's finger-nail. As part of the crime-money 
went to the crown, it was a goodly source of royal income. The amount 
due increased with the rank of the injured party ; thus, the weregeld 
of the West-Saxon king was six times that of the thane, and the thane's 
was four times that of the ceorl. The weregeld also settled the value 
of an oath in the law-courts : " A thane could outswear half-a-dozen 
ceorls ° an earl could outswear a whole township." The word of the 
k^ng was ordered to be taken without an oath. Sorne crimes, such as 
premeditated murder or perjury after theft, were inexpiable. 

The Ordeals were used in cases of doubtful guilt. Sometimes 
a cauldron of boiling water or a red-hot iron was brought before the 
court. The man of general good character was made to plunge his 
hand in the water or to carry the iron nine paces, but he of ill-repute 
immersed his arm to the elbow and was given an iron of treble weight. 
After three days he was declared guilty or innocent, according to the 
signs of perfect healing. Sometimes the accused was made to walk 
blindfolded and barefooted over red-hot ploughshares ; and sometimes he 
was bound hand and foot and thrown into a pond, to establish his inno- 
cence or guilt according as he sank or floated. Ordeals were formally 
abolished by the CJiurch in the 13th century. 

The Duel, in which the disputants or their champions fought, 
was transplanted from Normandy about the time of the Conquest ; and 
the Grand Assize, the first establishment in regular legal form of trial 
by jury, was introduced by Henry II. 

. Commerce was governed by strict protective laws, and every pur- 
chase, even of food, had to be made before witnesses. If a man went 
to a distance to buy any article, he must first declare his intention to 
his neighbors ; if he chanced to buy while absent, he must publish the 
fact on his return. Nothing could be legally bought or sold for three 
miles outside a city's walls, and the holder of wares whose purchase in 
open market could not be proved, not only forfeited the goods, but was 
obliged to establish his character for honesty before the legal inspector 
of sales. Judging from the laws, theft and smuggling, though punished 
with great severity, were prevalent crimes. 



RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — ENGLAND, 



43 



Solitary travelers were regarded with suspicion, and an early law 
declared that " if a man come from afar or a stranger go out of the 
highway, and he then neither shout nor blow a horn, he is to be ac- 
counted a thief, either to be slain or to be redeemed." 




THE SCRIPTORIUM OF A MONASTERY, 



MONK ILLUMINATING A MANUSCRIPT. 



Literature and. the Arts flourished only in convents, where 
the patient monks wrought in gold, silver and jewels, and produced 
exquisitely illuminated manuscripts. The name of " The VeneraUe 
Bede" (673-735), the most distinguished of Anglo-Saxon writers, is 
familiar to all readers of English history, and we recognize Alcuin 
(735-804) as the preceptor of Charlemagne. Alfred the Great, whom 
popular tradition invested with nearly every virtue, was a tireless 
student and writer. 

Truthfulness, Respect for Woman^ and Hospitality- 
were the old wholesome German traits. The doors of the Anglo-Saxon 
hall were closed to none — known or unknown — who appeared worthy 
of entrance. The stranger was welcomed with the customary offer of 
water to wash his hands and feet, after which he gave up his arms and 
took his place at the family board. For two nights no questions were 
asked ; after that his host was responsible for his character. In later 
times, a strange-comer who was neither armed nor rich nor a clerk was 
obliged to enter and leave his host's house by daylight, nor was he 
allowed to remain out of his own tithing more than one night at a time. 



44 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 




HOUSE OF A NOBLEMAN (TWELFTH CENTURY). 



;i| |llllilllllllliilllllllllililllilllllllliilllili!!lllllililll||lillll^ 



The Home of a prosperous 
Anglo-Saxon consisted generally 
of a large wooden building — the 
liall — surrounded by several de- 
taclied cabins, the loiDers, situ- 
ated in a large yard enclosed by 
an earthwork and a ditch, with a 
strong gate (the hurh-gate) for 
entrance. The hall was the 
general resort of the numerous 
household. It was hung with 
cloth or embroidered tapestries, 
and had hooks for arms, armor, 
musical instruments, etc. The 
floor was of clay or, in palaces, 
of tile mosaic. Its chief furniture was benches, which served as seats 
by day and for beds at night. A sack of straw and a straw pillow, with 
sheet, coverlet, and goatskin, laid on a bench or on the floor, furnished a 
sufficient couch for even a royal Saxon. A stool or chair covered with a 
rug or cushion marked 
the master's place. The 
table was a. long board 
placed upon tressels 
and laid aside when 
not in use. A hole in 
the roof gave outlet to 
the clouds of smoke 
from the open fire on 
the floor. The bowers 
furnished private sit- 
ting and bed rooms for 
the ladies of the house, 
the master, and distin- 
guished guests. Here the Anglo-Saxon dames carded, spun, and wove, 
and wrought the gold embroideries that made their needlework famous 
throughout Europe. The straw bed lay on a bench in a curtained recess, 
and the furniture was scanty, for in those times nothing which could 
not be easily hidden was safe from plunderers. The little windows 
(called eye-holes) were closed by a wooden lattice, thin horn, or linen, 
for glass windows were as yet scarcely known. A rude candle stuck 
upon a spike was used at night, — The women were fond of flowers and 
gardens. At the great feasts they passed the ale and mead, and dis- 
tributed gifts — the spoils of victory — to the warrior-guests.* They 
* The master was called the hlaf-ord (loaf owner), and the mistress hlaf-dig (loaf 




fillliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

iNGLISH BExNCH OR BED. 



RISE or MOOERK KATIOXS — EKGLAKD. 45 

were as hard mistresses as tlie old Roman matrons, and their slaves 
were sometimes scourged to death by their orders. 

Dress. — The men usually went bareheaded, with flowing beard, and 
long hair parted in the middle. A girdled tunic, loose short trousers, 
and wooden or leather shoes completed the costume. The rich wore 
ornamented silk cloaks. A girl's hair hung flowing or braided ; after 
marriage it was cut short or bound around the head, as a mark of sub- 
jection. It was a fashion to dye the hair blue, but a lady's head-dress 
left only her face exposed ; her brilliantly-dyed robes and palla were, 
in form, not unlike those of Roman times. 

Hunting and Hawking were the favorite outdoor sports ; the 
in-door were singing — for even a laboring man was disgraced if he could 
not sing to his own accompaniment — harp-playing, story-telling, and, 
above all, the old German habits, feasting and drinking. 




A DINNER PARTY. 



Scene in Anglo-Saxon lAfe.—The Noon-Meat. — About three 
o'clock the chief, his guests, and all his household meet in the hall. 
While the hungry crowd, fresh from woodland and furrow, lounge 
near the fire or hang up their weapons, the slaves drag in the heavy 
board, spreading on its upper half a handsome cloth. The tableware 
consists of wooden platters and bread-baskets, bowls for the universal 
broth, drinking-horns and cups, a few steel knives shaped like our 
modern razors, and some spoons, but no forks. As soon as the board is 
laid, the benches are drawn up. and the work of demolition begins. 
Great round cakes of bread, huge junks of boiled bacon, vast rolls of 
broiled eel, cups of milk, horns of ale, wedges of cheese, lumps of salt 
butter, and smoking piles of cabbage and beans all disappear like 
magic. Kneeling slaves offer to the lord and his honored guests long 
skewers or spits on which steaks of beef or venison smoke and sputter. 



distributer) ; hence the modern words lord and lady. 
were called loaf-eaters. 



The domestics and retainers 



46 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES, 



ready for tlie hacking blade. Poultry, game, and geese are on the 
upper board ; but, except the bare bones, the crowd of loaf-eaters see 
little of these dainties. Fragments and bones strew the floor, where 
they are eagerly snapped up by hungry hounds, or lie till the close of 
the meal. Meantime, a clamorous mob of beggars and cripples hang 
round the door, squabbling over the broken meat and mingling their 
unceasing whine with the many noises of the feast.* 




-PRIMITIVE METHOD OF COOKING (FROM 14TH CENTURY MS.) 

After the banquet comes the revel. The drinking-glasses — with 
rounded bottoms, so that they cannot stand on the table,! but must be 
emptied at a draught — are now laid aside for gold and silver goblets, 
which are constantly filled and refilled with mead and — in grand houses 
— with wine. Gleemen sing, and twang the violin or harp (called glee- 
wood), or blow great blasts from trumpets, horns, and pipes, or act the 
buffoon with dance and jugglery. Amid it all rises the gradually increas- 
ing clamor of the guests, who, fired by incessant drinking, change their 
shouted riddles into braggart boasts, then into taunts and threats, and 
often end the night with bloodshed. (Condensed from Collier.) 

The USTorman introduced new modes of thought and of life. 
More cleanly and delicate in personal habits, more elaborate in tastes, 
more courtly and ceremonious in manner, fresh from a province where 
learning had just revived and which was noted for its artistic architec- 
ture, and coming to a land that for a century had been nearly barren 
of literature and whose buildings had little grace or beauty, the Nor- 
man added culture and refinement to the Anglo Saxon strength and 
sturdiness. Daring and resolute in attack, steady in discipline, skilful 



* In Norman times the beggars grew so insolent that ushers armed with rods were 
posted outside the hall door to keep them from snatching the food from the dishes 
as the cooks carried it to the table. 

t This characteristic of the old drinking-cups is said to have given rise to the 
modem name oi tumbler. 



RISE OF M0I)ER:N" KATIOKS — EK GLAND. 47 

in exacting submission, fond of outside splendor, proud of military 
power, and appreciative of tliouglit and learning, it was to him, says 
Pearson, that " England owes the builder, the knight, the schoolman, 
the statesman." But it was still only the refinement of a brutal age. 
The Norman soon drifted into the gluttonous habits he had at first 
ridiculed, and the conquest was enforced so pitilessly that "it was 
impossible to walk the streets of any great city without meeting men 
whose eyes had been torn out and whose feet or hands, or both, had 
been lopped off." 




PREPARING A CANDIDATE FOR KNIGHTHOOD, 
(From a Manuscript, Twelfth Century.) 



48 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES, 



[892. 



II. FRANCE 




NORMAN SHIP (FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRy). 



The Norsemen — Scandinavians, like the Danish invad- 
ers of England — began to ravage the coast of France during 
the days of Charlemagne. Under his weak successors, they 
came thick and fast, ascending the rivers in their boats, and 
burning and plundering far and near. At last, in sheer 
desperation, Charles the Simple gave Eollo — the boldest of 
the vikings — a province since known as Normandy. Eollo 
took the required oath of feudal service, but delegated the 
ceremony of doing homage to one of his followers, who 
lifted the monarch's foot to his mouth so suddenly as to 
upset king and throne. 

Soon, a wonderful change occurred. The Normans, as 
they were henceforth called, showed as much vigor in culti- 
vating their new estates as they had formerly in devastating 



oil.] RISE OF MODERK KATIONS — FRANCE. 



40 



them. They adopted the language, rehgion, and customs of 
the French, and, though they invented nothing, they devel- 
oped and gave new life to all they touched. Ere long 
JSTormandy became the fairest province, and these wild 
Norsemen, the bravest knights, the most astute statesmen, 
and the grandest builders of France. 

TABLE OF FRENCH MEDI/EVAL KINGS. 






Hugh Capet 

I 
Robert 

Henkt I. 

Philip I. 

Louis VI., the Fat 

Louis VII., the Young (1137-'80). 

Philip II., Augustus (1180-1223). 

Louis VIII. (1223-'26). 



(987-'96). 

(996-1081). 

(1031-"60). 

(1060-1108). 

(1108-'37). 



Louis IX., Saint a226-'70). 

I 



Chaeles, Count of Anjou and Provence, 
founder of House of Naples. 



Philip III., the Hardy (1270- 



RoEERT, Count of Clermont, founder of 
House of Bourbon. 



I 
Philip IV., the Fair (1285-1314). 



Charles, Count of Valois, founder of 
House of Valois (p. 54). 



Louis X. (1314). Philip V. (1316). Charles IV. (1322). 

son of PhiUp III 



Charles, Count of Valoi 
Philip VI. (1328-'50). 



Johk, the Good (1350-''64). 
Charles V., the Wise (1364-'80). 



Charles VI., the Well-beloved (1380-1422). 

Charles VIL, the Victorious (1422-'61). 

Louis XI. (1461-''83). 

I 
Charles VIII. (1483-''98). 



Isabella, m. 
Edward II. of 

England. 

Edward III. 

(p. 54). 



Louis, Duke of Orleans, 

founder of House of 

Valois-Orleans. 



50 MEDIAEVAL PEOPLES. [843-987. 

The Later Carlovingian Kings * proved as power- 
less to defend and goyern, as they had to preserve, the 
inheritance of their great ancestors. During the terror of 
the Norseman invasion, the people naturally turned for pro- 
tection to the neighboring lords, whose castles were their 
only refuge. Feudalism, consequently, grew apace. In the 
10th century France existed only in name. Normandy, 
Burgundy, Aquitaine, Champagne, Toulouse, were the true 
states, each with its independent government, and its own 
life and history. 

The Capetian Kings.— As Charles Martel, Mayor of 
the Palace, gained power during the last days of the do- 
nothing, Merovingian kings, and his son established a new 
dynasty, so, in the decadence of the Carlovingians, Hugh 
the Great, Count of Paris, gained control, and his son, 
Hugh Capet, was crowned at Eheims (987). Thus was 
founded the third, or Capetian Line. France had now a 
native French king, and its capital was Paris. 

Weakness of the Monarchy. — The Eoyal Domain 
(see map), however, was only a small territory along the 
Seine and Loire. Even there the king scarcely ruled his 
nobles, while the great vassals of the crown paid him scant 
respect. The early Capets made little progress toward 
strengthening their authority. When William, duke of 
Normandy, won the English crown, there began a long 
rivalry that retarded the growth of France for centuries ; 
and when Eleanor, the divorced wife of Louis VII., was 
married t6 Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou — so carry- 
ing her magnificent inheritance of Poitou and Aquitaine to 



* It is a Pignificant fact that they have come down to us with the Bicknames of 
the Goocl-naturecT, the Bald, the Stammerer, the Fat, the Simple, and the Idle (Brief 
Hist, of France, App., p. 25). 



RISE OF MODERN- NATION-S — FRANCE. 51 



PARAMOUNT FEUDATORIES 
at the time of the accession of 

HUGH CAPET 







il,k&Be..N.Y. 



him who soon after became Henry II. of England, — the 
French crown was completely overshadowed. 

Growth of the Monarchy. — The history of France 
during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries shows how, in 
spite of foreign foes, she absorbed the great fiefs, one by one ; 
how royalty triumphed over feudalism, and finally all became 
consolidated into one great monarchy. 

Philip Augustus (1180-1223) was the ablest monarch 
France had seen since Charlemagne. When a mere boy he 



52 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



[13th cent. 




I'HILIP AUGUSTUS. 



gained the counties of 
Vermandois, Amiens, 
and Valois ; while by 
his marriage he se- 
cured L'Artois. 

King John of Eng- 
land being accused of 
having murdered his 
nephew Arthur — the 
heir of Brittany — Phil- 
ip summoned him, as 
his vassal, to answer 
for the crime before 
the peers of France. 
On his non-appearance, 
John was adjudged to have forfeited his fiefs. War ensued, 
during which Philip captured not only 'Normandy, which 
gave him control of the mouth of the Seine, but also Anjou, 
Maine, and Touraine, upon the Loire. 

Certain cities were granted royal charters conferring spe- 
cial privileges ; under these, the citizens formed associations 
{commtmes) for mutual defence, elected magistrates, and 
organized militia. When Phihp invaded Flanders, the 
troops from sixteen of the communes fought at his side and 
helped him win the battle of Bouvines (1214) over the Flem- 
ings, Germans, and English. It was the first great French 
victory, and gave to the crown authority, and to the people 
a thirst for military glory. 

The Albigenses — so called from the city of Albi — professed 
doctrines at variance with the Church of Rome. Pope In- 
nocent III. accordingly preached a crusade against them and 
their chief defender, Count Raymond of Toulouse. It was 
led by Simon de Montfort, father of the earl famous iii 



1326.] RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — FRANCE. 53 



English history. Euthless adventurers flocked to his stand- 
ard from all sides, and for years this beautiful land was 
ravaged with fire and sword. Helpless Toulouse at last 
lapsed to the crown, and so France acquired the Mediterra- 
nean coast. Instead of being shut up to the lands about 
Paris, the kingdom now touched three seas. 

Louis IX. (1226-70) is best known by his title of Saint, 
and history loves to describe him as sitting beneath the 
spreading oak at Vincennes, and dispensing justice among 
his people. By his integrity, goodness, and strength of 
mind he made all classes, respect his rule. He firmly re- 
pressed the warring barons, and established the Parliament 
of Paris — a court of justice to enforce equal laws through- 
out the realm. During this beneficent reign, royalty and 
the country made such progress that France assumed the 
first rank among the European na- 
tions. 

Philip IV. (1285-1314) was 
called the Fair — a title which ap- 
plied to his complexion rather than 
his character, for he was crafty and 
cruel. In order to repress the 
nobles, he encouraged the com- 
munes and elevated the bourgeoisie, 
or middle classes. His reign is 
memorable for the long and bitter 
contest which he carried on with 
the Pope, Boniface VIII. To 
strengthen himself, the king sum- 
moned for the first time in French 
history (1302) the States- General, 
or deputies of the Three Estates of 
the Realm — the nobles, the clergy, a soldier (fourteenth century) 




54 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES, 



[14th cent. 




and the commons {tiers etat). The j)eople thus obtained 
representation. The papal court was finally removed to 
Avignon, and the new Pope, Clement V., became in effect a 

vassal of France. 

The order of Templars (p. 93), 
by its wealth and pride, excited 
Philip's greed and jealousy. He 
accordingly seized the knights, 
and confiscated their treasures. 
The members were accused of 
frightful crimes, which they con- 
fessed under torture, and many 
were burned at the stake. 

House of Valois. — Philip's 
three sons came to the throne 
in succession, but died leaving 
no male heir. The question then 
arose whether the crown could 
It was decided that, according to the 
old Salic law of the Franks, the kingdom could not *^fall to 
the distaff." During the short reign of Philip's sons, their 
uncle Charles, Count of Valois, secured almost royal power, 
and — the third instance of the kind in French history — his 
son obtained the crown, which thus went to the Valois 
branch of the Capet family. This succession was disputed 
by Edward III. of England, as son of the daughter of 
Philip IV. So began the contest called 

The Hundred-Years War (1328-1453).— Like the 
Peloponnesian War of ancient Greece, this long struggle was 
not one of continuous fighting, but was broken by occasional 
truces, or breathing-spells, caused by the sheer exhaustion of 
the contestants. Throughout the progress of this contest 
the fortunes of France and England were so linked that the 



A KNIGHT TEMPLAR. 



descend to a female. 



1338.] RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — 1< RANGE. 55 

Slime events often form the principal features in tlie history 
of both, while there were many striking coincidences and 
contrasts in the condition of the two countries. 



FRANCE. 

Philip of Valois (IS^S-'SO) came to 
the throne at nearly the same time as his 
English rival, though France had three 
kings (Philip, John, and Charles) during 
Edward 7///s reign of fifty years. The 
storm of war was long gathering. Philip, 
coveting Aquitaine, excited hostilities 
upon its borders ; gathered a fleet, and 
destroyed Southampton and Plymouth ; 
interrupted the English trade with the 
great manufacturing cities of Ghent and 
Bruges ; and aided the revolt of Robert 
Bruce in Scotland. A war of succession 
having arisen in Brittany, and the rival 
kings supporting opposite factions, 
Phihp, during a truce, invited a party of 
Breton noblemen to a tournament, and 
beheaded them without trial. 



ENGLAND. 

Edward III.'s (1327-'77) reign wit- 
nessed England's most brilliant achieve- 
ments in war. At first Edward did hom- 
age for his lands in France; but after- 
ward, exasperated by Philip's hostility, 
he asserted his claim to the French 
throne; made allies of Flanders and 
Germany ; quartered the lilies of France 
with the lions of England ; assembled a 
fleet, and defeated the French off Bluys 
(1.340), thus winning the first great Eng- 
lish naval victory; and finally, upon 
Philip's perfidy in slaying the Breton 
knights, invaded Normandy, and ravaged 
the country to the very walls of Paris. 
On his retreat, he was overtaken by an 
overwhelming French army near Crecy. 



Battle of Crecy (1346).— The English yeomanry had 
learnt the use of the long bow, and now formed Edward's 
main reliance. 

The Erench army was a motley feudal array, the knights 
despising all who fought on foot. The advance was led by a 
body of Genoese cross-bow men, who recoiled before the piti- 
less storm of English arrows. The French knights, instantly 
charging forward, trampled the helpless Italians under foot. 
In the midst of the confusion, the English poured down on 
their struggling ranks. PhilijD himself barely escaped, and 
reached Amiens with only five attendants. 

The result of this victory was the capture of Calais. Ed- 
ward, driving out the inhabitants, made it an English settle- 
ment. Henceforth, for two hundred years, this city afforded 
the English an open door into the heart of France. Crecy 
was a triumph of the churl over the knight, and it inspired 
England with a love of conquest. 



56 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



[14th cent. 



The Black Death (1347-'50), a terrible plague from 
the East, now swept over Europe. Half the population of 
England perished. Travelers in Germany found cities and 
villages without a living inhabitant. At sea, ships were dis- 
covered adrift, their crews having all died of the pestilence. 
The mad passions of men were stayed in the presence of this 
fearful scourge. Just as it abated, Philip died, leaving the 
crown to his son. 




KING JOHN AND HIS SON AT POITIERS. 



John the Good (1350-'64) was brave 
and cliivalrous, but his rashness and 
gayety were in marked contrast with Ed- 
ward's stern common sense. His char- 
acter was written all over with Crecys. 
Charles the Bad, the turbulent king of 
Navarre, was constantly rousing opposi- 
tion : John seized him at a supper given 
by the Danphin (the eldest son of the 
French king), and threw him into prison. 
Charles's friends appealed to Edward, 
and did homage to him for their domains. 



While Edward was al)sent, the Scots, 
as usual in alliance with France (p. 39), 
mvaded England ; but, in the same year 
with Crecy, Edward's queen, Philippa, 
defeated them at NeviWs Cross. The 
French war smoldered on, with fitful 
truce and plundering raid, until Edward 
espoused Charles's cause, when the con- 
test broke out anew. The Prince of 
Wales— called the Black Prince, from the 
color of his armor— carried fire and sword 
to the heart of France. 



Battle of Poitiers (1356). — John having assembled sixty 



1356.] RISE OF MODERK NATIONS — FRANCE. 57 

thousand men, the flower of French chivah-y, intercepted the 
prince returning witli his booty. It was ten years since 
Crecy, and the king hoped to retrieve its disgrace, but he 
only doubled it. The Prince's little army of eight thousand 
was posted on a hill, the sole approach being by a lane bor- 




ENGLISH LONG-BOW MEN. 



dered with hedges, behind which the English archers were 
concealed. The French knights, galloping up this road, 
were smitten by the shafts of the bowmen. Thrown into 
disorder, tliey fell back on the main body below, when the 
Black Prince in turn charged down the hill. John sprang 
from his horse, and fought till he and his young son, Philip, 
were left alnaost alone. This braye boy stood at his father's 



58 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLE 



[1356. 



side, crying out, " Guard the left ! Guard the right ! " until, 
pressed on every hand, the king was forced to surrender. 

The Black Prince treated his prisoner with the courtesy 
befitting a gallant knight, ^e stood behind his chair at 
dinner, and, according to the fashion of the age, waited upon 
him like a servant. When they entered London, the captive 
king was mounted on a splendidly-caparisoned white charger, 
while the conqueror rode at his side on a black pony. John 
was afterward set free by the Treaty of Bretigny, agreeing 
to give up Aquitaine and pay three million crowns. One of 
his sons, however, who had been left at Calais as a hostage, 
escaped. Thereupon John, feeling bound in honor, went 
back to his splendid captivity. 



The Condition of France was uow 
pitiable indeed. The Frencli army, dis- 
solved into companies called Free Lances, 
roamed tlie country, plundering friend 
and foe. Even the Pope at Avignon had 
to redeem himself with forty thousand 
crown«. The land in the track of the 
English armies lay waste ; the plough 
rusted in the furrow, and the houses were 
blackened ruins. The ransoms of the re- 
leased nobles were squeezed from Jacques 
Bonhomme— as the lords nicknamed the 
peasant. Beaten and tortured to reveal 
their little hoards, the serfs fled to the 
woods, or dug pits in which to hide from 
their tormentors. Brutalized by centu- 
ries of tyranny, they at last rose as by a 
common impulse of despair and hate. 
Snatching any weapon at hand, they 
rushed to the nearest chateau, and piti- 
lessly burned and massacred. The Eng- 
lish joined with the French gentry in 
crushing this rebellion ("The Jacque- 
rie"). Meanwhile the bourgeoisie in 
Paris, sympathizing with the peasants, 
rose to check the license of the nobles 
and the tyranny of the crown. The 
States-General made a stand for liberty, 
refusing the Dauphin money and men for 
the war, except with guarantees. But 
the Dauphin marched on Paris ; Marcel, 
the liberal leader, was slain, and this at- 



The Black Prince was entrusted with 
the government of Aquitaine. Here he 
took the part of Don Pedro the Cruel— a 
dethroned king of Castile— and won him 
back his kingdom. But the thankless 
Pedro refused to pay the cost, and the 
Black Prince returned, ill, cross, and 
penniless. The haughty English were 
little liked in Aquitaine, and, when the 
Prince levied a house-tax to replenish his 
treasury, they turned to the Dauphin— 
now Charles V. — who summoned the 
Prince to answer for his exactions. On 
his refusal, Charles declared the English 
possessions in France forfeited. The 
Prince rallied his ebbing strength, and, 
borne in a litter, took the field. He cap- 
tured Limoges, but sullied his fair fame 
by a massacre of the inhabitants, and was 
carried to England to die. He was buried 
in Canterbury Cathedral, where his hel- 
met, shield, gauntlets, and surcoat— em- 
broidered with the arms of France and 
England— still hang above his tomb. 

Defeat of the English.— Bnglsind had 
lost the warriors who won Crecy and 
Poitiers ; moreover, Du Guesclin fought 
no pitched battles, but waged a far more 
dangerous guerilla warfare. "Never," 
said Edward, "was there a French king 
who wore so little armor, yet never was 
there one who gave me so much to do." 



1364] RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — FRANCE. 59 




1 




PRINCE EDWARD'S TOMB AT CANTERBURY. 



tempt of the people to win their rights 
was stamped out in blood. 

Charles V. (1364-'80), the Wise, 
merited the epithet. Calling to his side 
a brave Breton knight, Dn Guesclin, he 
relieved France by sending the Free 
Lances to fight against Don Pedro. 
When the Aquitainans asked for help, 
Charles saw his opportunity. For the 
dreaded Black Prince was sick, and Ed- 
ward was growing old. So he renewed 
the contest. He did not, like his father, 
rush headlong into battle, but committed 
his army to Du Guesclin— now Constable 
of France— with orders to let famine, 
rather than fighting, do the work. One 
by one he got back the lost provinces, 
and the people gladly i-eturned to their 
natural ruler. 

The Constable died while besieging a 
castle in Auvergne, and the governor, 
who had agreed to surrender on a certain 
day, laid the keys of the stronghold upon 
the hero's coifin. Charles survived his 
great general ouly a few months, but he 
had regained nearly all his father and 
grandfather had lost. 

Charles VI. (13S0-1422), a beautiful 
boy of twelve years, became king. He 
ascended the throne three years after 
Eichard, and his reign coincided with 
those of three English kings (Eichard II., 



And now Edward closed his long 
reign. Scarcely was the great warrior 
laid in his grave, ere the English coast 
was ravaged by the French fleet. This, 
too, only twenty years from Poitiers. 
Domestic aflTairs were not more pros- 
perous. True, foreign war had served to 
diminish race hatred. Norman knight, 
Saxon bowman, and Welsh lancer had 
shared a common danger and a common 
glory at Crecy and Poitiers. But the old 
enmity now took the form of a struggle 
between the rich and the poor. The 
yoke of villeinage, which obliged the 
bondsmen to till their lord's laud, harvest 
his crops, etc., bore heavily. During the 
Black Death, many laborers died, and 
consequently wages rose. The landlords 
refused to pay the increase, and Parlia- 
ment passed a law punishing any one 
asking a higher price for his work. This 
enraged the peasants. One John Ball 
went about denouncing all landlords, and 
often quoting the lines, 

" When Adam delved and Eve span 
Who was then the gentleman ? " 

Richard II. (15?7- 99), a beautiful 
boy of eleven years, became king. Heavy 
taxation having still further incensed the 
disaffected peasants, thousands rose in 
arms, and marched upon London (1381), 



60 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



[14th cent. 



Henry IV. , and V.) — the reverse of the 
reign of Edward III. Both countries 
were now governed by minors, who were 
under the influence of ambitious uncles, 
anxious for their own personal power. 

Charles's guardians SiBsemhledi a great 
fleet at Sluys, and for a time frightened 
England by the fear of invasion. Next, 
they led an army into Flanders, and at 
Bosehecque (1382) the French knights, 
with their mailed horses and long lances, 
trampled down the Flemings by thou- 
sands. This was a triumph of feudalism 
and the aristocracy over popular liberty ; 
and the French cities which had revolted 
against the tyranny of the court were 
punished with terrible severity. Charles 
dismissed his guardians a year earlier 
than Kichard, and, more fortunate than 
he, called to the head of affairs Du Clis- 
son, friend and successor of Du Guesclin. 

The King\'i Insanity. — An attempt be- 
ing made to assassinate the Constable, 
Charles pursued the criminals Into Brit- 
tany. One sultry day, as he was going 
through a forest, a crazy man darted be- 
fore him and shouted, "Thou art be- 
trayed ! " The king, weak from illness 
and the heat, was startled into madness. 
The Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans 
now governed, while, for thirty years, a 
maniac sat upon the throne. The death of 
Burgundy only doubled the horrors of the 
times, for his son, John the fearless, was 
yet more unprincipled and cruel. Final- 
ly, John became reconciled to his cousin, 
Louis, Duke of Orleans, and, in token 
thereof, they partook of the sacrament 
together. Three days afterward, Orleans 
was murdered by Burgundy's servants. 
The crazy king pardoned the murderer 
of his brother. The new Duke of Orleans 
being young, his father-in-law, the Count 
of Armagnac, became the head of the 
party which took his name. The Burgun- 
dians espoused the popular cause, and 
were friendly to England ; the Orlean- 
ists, the aristocratic side, and opposed 
England^ The queen joined the Burgun- 
dians ; the Dauphin, the Armagnacs. 
Paris ran with blood. 



The boy-king met them on Smithfield 
common. Their leader, Wat Tyler, ut- 
tering a threat, was slain by the mayor. 
A cry of vengeance rising from the mul- 
titude, Richard boldly rode forward, ex- 
claiming, "I am your king. I will be 
yourleader." The peasants accepted his 
written guarantee of their freedom, and 
went home quietly. But Parliament re- 
fused to ratify the king's pledges, and 
this insurrection was trodden out by the 
nobles, as the Jacquerie had been twenty- 
three years before, in blood. 

Bichard's character, besides this one 
act of courage, showed few kingly traits. 
His reign was a constant struggle with 
his uncles. When he threw off their 
yoke, he ruled well for a time, but soon 
began to act the despot, and by his reck- 
lessness alienated all classes. With his 
kingdom in this unsettled state, he sought 
peace by marrying a child- wife only eight 
years old, Isabella, daughter of Charles 
VI. of France. This marriage was un- 
popular; the people were restless, the 
nobles unruly, and, finally, Richard's 
cousin, Henry of Lancaster, seized the 
crown. Richard was deposed, and soon 
after, as is thought, was murdered in 
prison, like his great-grandfather, Ed- 
ward II. 

Henry IV. (1399-1413), who now 
founded the House of Lancaster, was 
authorized by Parliament to rule, though 
the Earl of March, a descendant of 
Lionel (p. 34), was nearer the throne. 
As Henry owed his place to Parlia- 
ment, he had to act pretty much as 
that body pleased. The great nobles 
were none too willing to obey. The reign 
was, therefore, a troubled one. England 
could take no advantage of the distracted 
state of affkirs in France. 

Henry V. (1413-1432), to strengthen 
his weak title to the throne by victory, 
and to give the discontented nobles war 
abroad instead of leaving them to plot 
treason at home, invaded France. While 
marching from Harfleur to Calais, he met 
a vastly superior French force upon the 
plain of Azincourt. 



Battle of Azincourt (1415). — The French army was 
the flower of chivalry. The knights, resplendent in their 



1415.] RISE OF MODEllK KATIOKS — FRANCE, 



61 



armor, charged upon the Enghsli line. But their horses 
floundered in the muddy ploughed fields, while a storm of 
arrows beat down horse and rider. In the confusion the 
English advanced, driving all before them. It was Orecy 
and Poitiers over again. Ten thousand Frenchmen fell, 
four-fifths of whom were of gentle blood. 

Treaty of Troyes (1420). Henry again crossed the 
channel, captured Eouen, and threatened Paris. In the 
face of this peril, the Dauphin and the Duke of Burgundy 
met for conference. It ended in the assassination of Bur- 
gundy. His son, Philip the Good, at once went over to the 
English camp, taking with him the queen and the helpless 
king. He there concluded a treaty, which declared Henry 
regent and heir of the kingdom, and gave him the hand of 
Charles's daughter, Catharine. Paris and northern France 
submitted ; but the Armagnacs, with the Dauphin, held the 
southern part. The conqueror did not live to wear the 
crown he had won. The hero of Azincourt and his father- 
in-law, Charles VI., the crazy king, died within two months 
of each other. 



[The next three reigns of the French and the English kings corre- 
spond to a year. France now loses a mad monarch and gets a frivolous 
king, who finally matures into a strong ruler ; England loses a great 
warrior, and gets an infant who, when he matures into manhood, shows 
no strength, and inherits from his mother the tendency of the French 
royal family to insanity.] 



Charles VII. (1422-'61), called the 
" King of Bourges"— from the city where 
he was crowned— was so poor that the 
chroniclers of the time tell of the straits 
to which he was reduced for a pair of 
boots. Gay and pleasure-loving, he was 
indifferent to the agony of his native 
land. Not so with Jeanne Dare, a maiden 
in Domremy. As she fed her flock, she 
seemed to hear angel-voices saying that 
she was chosen to save France. Going 
to Charles, she announced that she was 



Henry VI. (1422-'61), though an in- 
fant, was proclaimed at Paris king of 
England and France, the Duke of Bed- 
ford acting as regent. In England there 
was no question as to the succession, and 
the claims of the Earl of March were not 
thought of a moment. All eyes were 
fixed on France— the new kingdom Hen- 
ry V. had added to the English monarchy. 
There Bedford gained two great battles, 
won town after town, and, finally, resolv- 
ing to carry the war into southern France, 



m 



Medi^tal peoples. 



[15th CENf. 



sent of Heaven to conduct him to be 
crowned at Kheims— then in possession 
of the English. The king reluctantly 
committed his cause into her hands. 



laid siege to Orleans. The capture of 
this city was imminent, when Charles's 
cause was saved by a maiden. 



Jeanne, wearing a consecrated sword and bearing a holy 
banner, led Charles's army into Orleans. The French sol- 
diers were inspired 
by her presence, 
while the English 
quailed with super- 
stitious fear. The 
Maid of Orleans, 
as she was now 
called, raised the 
siege, led Charles 
to Rheims, and 
saw him crowned. 
Then, her mission 
accomplished, she 
begged leave to go 
back to her hum- 

JEA^NE DARC (JOAN OF ARC). ^^^ ^^^^^ -g^^^ ^^^^ 

had become too valuable to Charles, and he urged her to 
remain. The maid's trust, however, was gone, and the spell 
of her success failed. She was captured, thrown into a 
dungeon at Eouen, and tried as a witch. Abandoned by all, 
Jeanne was condemned and burnt at the stake (1431). 




The spirit of the maid survived her 
death. French patriotism was aroused, 
and, in spite of himself, Charles was 
borne to victory. First, the Duke of 
Burgundy grew lukewarm in the English 
cause, and, finally, Armagnacs and Bur- 
gundians clasped hands in the Treaty of 
Arras (1435). Bedford died broken- 
hearted. Paris opened its gates to its 
legitimate king. 

Charles's character seemed now to 



Henry VI., «•? a man, had little more 
authority than as a child. His wife, Mar- 
garet, was the daughter of Rene, Duke of 
Anjou. The English opposed' this mar- 
riage with a French lady. But she pos- 
sessed beauty and force of character, 
and, for years, ruled in her husband's 
name, 

A formidable Insurrection broke out 
(1450) under Jack Cade, who, complaining 
of bad government, the king's evil -id 



1450.] RISE OF 3I0DERN NATIONS — FRANCE. 63 



change. He seized the opportunity to 
press the war while En<^lancl was rent 
with factions. He called to his councils 
Richemont the Constable, and the famous 
merchant Jacques Cceur; convened the 
States-General ; organized a regular 
army ; recovered Normandy and Gas- 
cony ; and sought to heal the wounds and 
repair the disasters of the long war. 

End of the Hundred-Years War.— 
Step by step, Charles pushed his con- 
quests from England. Finally, Talbot, 
the last and bravest of the English cap- 
tains, fell on the field of Castillon (1453), 
and his cause fell with him. It was the 
end of this long and bitter struggle. 
Soon, of all the patrimony of William the 
Conqueror, the dower of Eleanor, the 
conquests of Edward III. and Henry V., 
there was left to England little save the 
city of Calais. 



visers, taxes, etc., led a peasant host 
upon London. This uprising of the peo- 
ple was put down only after bloodshed. 
The nobles, long wont to enrich them- 
selves by the plunder of France, upon the 
reverses in that country, found England 
too small and their revenues too scant, 
and so struggled for place at home. The 
Duke of York, Protector during the in- 
sanity of the king, was loath to yield 
power on his recovery, and questions of 
the succession became rife. The claims 
of the house of York were supported by 
the Earl of Warwick— the ' ' kingmaker," 
the most powerful nobleman in England. 
The sky was black with the coming storm 
—the Wars of the Roses. The king's 
longing for peace, his feebleness, the in- 
fluence of the queen, the rivalries of the 
nobles— all weakened the English rule in 
France, and gave Charles his opportunity. 



[Two years after Talbot fell, England was desolated by the Wars 
of the Roses. Edward IV. deposed Henry VI. the same year that 
Charles VII. died and Louis XI. ascended the throne ; Richard III. and 
Charles VIII. were contemporaneous (1483), but English and French 
history during the rest of the 15th century was seldom interwoven.] 



Triumph of Absolutism. — Louis XL's reign marks an 
epoch in French history. He used every energy of his cruel, 
crafty mind, and scrupled at no treachery or deceit, to over- 
throw Feudalism and bring all classes in subjection to the 
crown. His policy of centralization restored France to her 
former position in Europe, and his administration, by mak- 
ing roads and canals, and encouraging manufactures and 
education, secured the internal prosperity of the country. 

The Dukedom of Burgundy, during the recent troubles 
of France, had gained strength. Comprising the duchy of 
Burgundy and nearly all the present kingdoms of Belgium 
and the Netherlands, it threatened to become an independ- 
ent state between France and Germany. Its duke, Charles 
the Bold, held the most splendid court in Europe. Restless 
and ambitious, he constantly pursued some scheme of annex- 



64 



MEDI^YAL PEOPLES. 



[15th cent. 



ation. He was met, 
however, on every 
hand by Louis's 
craft. Once he plan- 
ned with Edward IV. 
of England an inva- 
sion of France; the 
English army again 
crossed the channel, 
but Louis feasted the 
soldiers, and, finally, 
bribed Edward to re- 
turn home. Charles 
wanted Lorraine and 
Provence ; his rule 
in Alsace was harsh ; 
while he had offend- 
ed the Swiss. Louis 
cunningly contrived 
to combine these va- 
rious enemies against 
Charles. The ill-fated duke was defeated at Oranson, Morat, 
and Nancy (1476-'7) ; and, after the last battle, his body was 
found frozen in a pool of water by the roadside. Thus 
ended the dream of a Burgundian kingdom. Mary, the 
daughter of Charles, retained his lands in the Low Countries, 
but Erance secured the duchy of Burgundy. 

Consolidation of the Kingdom. — Louis also added to 
his kingdom Artois, Provence, Eoussillon, Maine, Anjou, 
Franche Comte, and other extensive districts. After his 
death, his daughter, Anne of Beaujeu, who was appointed 
regent, secured for her brother, Charles VIII., the hand of 
Anne, heiress of Brittany. The last of the great feudal 




BUKGUNDY ^ 

UK DEB 

CHARLES THE BOLD 



SSi.StMCSS.l, C.Oj. t«S5.. 



1401.] RISE OF MODERK NATIONS — FllAKCE. 65 

states between the Ohaunel and the Pyrenees was absorbed 
by the crown. 

As the Middle Ages closed, France, united at home, was 
ready to enter upon schemes of conquest abroad ; and the 
power of the king, instead of being spent in subduing the 
vassals of the crown, was free to assert the French influence 
among other nations. 



EARLY FRENCH CIVILIZATION. 



The Gauls.— The na- 
tive inhabitants of France 
were Gauls, or Celts. In 
earliest times they dressed 
in skins, dyed or tattooed 
their flesh, drank out of the 
skulls of their enemies, 
worshiped sticks, stones, 
trees, and thunder, and 
strangled the stranger 
wrecked on their coast. 
But, many centuries before 
the Eomans entered Gaul, 
it had been visited by the 
Phoenicians, and afterward 
by the Greeks, who left, 
especially along the coast, 
some traces of their arts. 
The Gauls were a social, 
turbulent, enthusiastic race, 
less truthful and more vain, 
more imaginative and less 
enduring than their neigh- 
bors — the Germans. Like 
them, they were large, fair- 
skinned, and yellow-haired. 
Noisy and fluent in speech, 

Cicero compared them to town-criers, while Cato was impressed with 
their tact in argument. Fond of personal display, they wore their hair 
long and flowing, and affected showy garments. Their chiefs glittered 




EARLY INHABITANTS OF FRANCE. 



66 



MEDIEVAL Peoples, 



with jewelry, and deliglited in huge headpieces of fur and feathers, 
and in gold and silver belts, from which they hung immense sabers. 

They went to war in all this finery, though they often threw it oflF 
in the heat of battle. Armed with barbed, iron-headed spears, heavy 
broadswords, lances, and arrows, they rushed fiercely on their foe, 
shouting their fearful war-cry, " Off with their heads." Wildly elated 
by success, they were as greatly depressed by defeat. The gregarious 
instinct was strong, and, with the Hebrew tribe, the Greek phratry, the 
Roman gens, and the German family, may be classed — as, perhaps, the 
most tenacious and exclusive of all — i\iQ Celtic Clan. 

Their arts were suited to their taste for show. They made brilliant 
dyes and gaily-plaided stuffs, plated metals, veneered woods, wove and 
embroidered carpets, and adorned their cloaks with gold and silver 
wrought ornaments. Quick to assimilate, they gradually took on all 
the culture and refinements of their Italian conquerors, until the round, 
wattled, clay-plastered, and straw-thatched hut of the early Gaul was 
transformed into the elegant country villa or sumptuous town residence 
of the Gallo-Roraan gentleman. 

But the luxurious Gallo-Roman was forced to yield to a new race of 
conquerors — the Franks, or Teutons. And, finally, a third people — the 
Normans — left its impress upon the French character. In the combined 
result the Gallic traits were predominant, and are evident in the French- 
man of to-day, just as, across the Channel, the Teutonic influences 
have chiefly molded the English nation. 




PARIS IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 



RISE OF MODEllK NATIONS — GERMAKY. 67 



III. GERMANY. 

Comparison with France. — The later Carlovingian 
kings in Germany were weak as in France ; and there, also, 
during the terrible Norseman invasions. Feudalism took deep 
root. While France comprised so many iSefs governed by 
nobles almost sovereign, Germany contained five separate 
nations — Franks, Saxons, Thuringians, Bavarians, and 
Swabians — whose dukes were almost independent in their 
realms. In France, the crown gradually absorbed the dif- 
ferent feudatories, and so formed one powerful kingdom; 
but through German history there runs no such connecting 
thread, the states continuing jealous, disunited, and often 
hostile. The German monarch was elective and not, like 
the French king, hereditary. The struggle of the crown 
with its powerful vassals was alike in both countries, but the 
results were different. While the descendants of Capet held 
the French throne for eight centuries, the German dynasties 
were short-lived. Germany had no central capital city, like 
Paris, around which the national sentiment could grow; and 
the emperor was a Bavarian, a Saxon, but never permanently 
and pre-eminently a German. The German branch of the 
Carlovingian line ended about three-quarters of a century 
earlier than the French. Conrad, duke of the Franks, was 
elected by the nobles, and, being lifted on the shield, was 
hailed king (911). After a troubled reign, with singular 
nobleness he named as his successor his chief enemy, Henry 
of Saxony, who was thereupon chosen.* He inaugurated the 

Saxon Dynasty (919-1024). — The tribe conquered by 
Charlemagne only about a hundred years before now took 

* The messenger sent to inforaa him of his election found the duke catching 
finches, whence he was known as Henry the JPowler. 



6S Medieval peoples. [ioth cent. 

the lead in German affairs. This dynasty embraced, in gen- 
eral, the 10th century. It gave to the throne two Henrys 
and three Ottos. 

HOUSE OF SAXONY. 

Henet I., the Fowler (919-'36). 
Otto I., the Great (936-'73). 



Otto IT. (973-'83). Henry, Duke of Bavaria. 

Otto III. (983-1002). Henry, Duke of Bavaria. 

Henry IT. (1002-^24). 

The Magyars, a barbarous people occupying the plains of 
modern Hungary, were the dreaded foe of the empire. More 
cruel than eyen the Norsemen, they were believed to be can- 
nibals, and to drink the blood of their enemies. They had 
repeatedly swept across Germany to the Rhine, burning and 
slaying without mercy. Henry I. and his son, Otto I.^ 
defeated them in two great battles. After the last over- 
throw, the Hungarians, as they were now called, from taking 
the lands once held by the Huns, settled down peaceably, 
and, by the year 1000, became Christian. On the adjacent 
frontier, Otto formed a military province — the Oster (east) 
March — a name since changed to Austria. 

The Burghers. — Seeing that the people needed strong 
places for their protection against their barbarous enemies, 
Henry founded walled towns and built fortresses, around 
which villages soon grew up. He also ordered every ninth 
man to live in one of these hurghs, as the fortresses were 
styled. Hence arose the burgher class, afterward the great 
support of the crown in the disputes with the nobles. 

Otto the Great (936-73), like his father, was strong 
enough to hold the German tribes together as one nation, 
and wage successful war against the Slaves, Danes, and other 



951.] RISE OF MODERN- N ATlOlTS — G ER M A K Y. 69 

heathen neighbors on the east and the north. Emulating 
tlie glory of Charlemagne, he repeatedly descended into 
Italy,* receiving at Milan the crown of the Lombards, and 
at Eome that of the Cassars. Thus was re-established 

The Holy Roman Empire, founded in the golden age of 
the Frankish monarch. Henceforth the kings of Germany 
claimed to be kings of Lombardy and Eoman emperors, and 
thought little of their royal title beside the imperial, which 
gaye them, as the head of Christendom and guardian of the 
faith of the Catholic church, so much higher honor. But, 
in 23rotecting their Italian interests, the emperors wasted the 
German blood and treasure that should have been devoted 
to compacting their home authority. They were often ab- 
sent for years, and meanwhile the dukes, margraves, and 
counts became almost sovereign princes. Thus Germany, 
instead of growing into a united nation, like other European 
peoples, remained a group of almost independent states. 

The Franconianf Dynasty (1024-1125) embraced, in 
general, the 11th century. It gave to the throne Conrad II., 
and Henry III, IV., and V. 

HOUSE OF FRANCONIA. 

CoNKAD n. (1024-'39). 
Henrt hi. (1039-'56). 
Henry IV. (1056-1106). 



Henby V. (1106-25). Agnes married 

Frederick of Hohenstaufen. 

* There is a gleam of romance connected with Otto's first descent into Italy. Lo- 
thaire, king of that distracted country, had been poisoned by Berengar, a brutal 
prince, who, in order to secure the throne of Italy, wished to marry his son to Adel- 
heid, Lothaire's young and beautiful widow. She spurned the revolting alliance, 
and, escaping from the loathsome prison where she was confined, appealed to Otto, 
who defeated Berengar, and afterward married Adelheid. 

t The Eastern, or Teutonic Francia (Fraukland), is termed Franconia, to distin- 
guish it from Western Francia, or France (p, 29). 



70 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [Uth CENT. 

Conrad II. (1024-'39) annexed to the empire the king- 
dom of Burgundy, thus governiDg three of the four great 
kingdoms of Charlemagne. (Map, p. 64.) 

Henry III. (1039-'56) elevated the empire to its glory, 
established order, and sought to enforce among the warring 
barons the Truce of God.* He was early called to Italy, 
where three candidates claimed the papacy. Henry deposed 
them all, placing four Germans successiyely in the papal 
chair. 

Henry IV. (1056-1106) was only six years old at his 
father's death. Never taught to govern himself or others, 
he grew up to be fickle, violent, and extravagant. When, at 
the age of fifteen, he became king, his court was a scandal 
to Germany. Eeckless companions gathered about the 
youthful monarch. Ecclesiastical offices were openly sold. 
Women were to be seen blazing in jewels taken from the 
robes of the priests. His misrule provoked the fierce Saxons 
to revolt, and he subdued the insurrection only with great 
difficulty. Then came the peril of his reign. 

Hildehrand, the son of a poor carpenter, the monk of 
Cluny, the confidential adviser of five popes, now assumed 
the tiara as Pope Gregory VII. Saint-like in his purity of 
life, iron-willed, energetic, eloquent, he was resolved to re- 
form the church, and make it supreme. He declared that, 
having apostolic pre-eminence over kings, he could give and 
withhold crowns at pleasure ; that ecclesiastic offices should 
not be sold ; that no prince should hold a ]3riestly office ; 
that no priest should marry ; and that the pope alone had 
the right to appoint bishops and invest them with the ring 
and staff— the emblems of office. 

War of the Investiture. — At this time half of the land and 

* This ordered the sword to be sheathed each week between Wednesday evening 
and Monday morning, on pain of excommunication. (Brief Hist. France, p. 42.) 



1077.] RISE OF M0DER:N" NATIONS — GERMANY. 71 

the wealth of Germany was in the hands of abbots and 
bishops. To resign the right of investiture would release 
them from paying tlie emperor feudal service, and make 
them subject to the pope. Henry therefore treated the de- 
cree with contempt, and summoned at Worms a synod which 
deposed the pope ; in reply, the pope excommunicated 
Henry, and released his subjects from their allegiance. Now 
Henry reaped the fruit of his folly and tyranny. The Ger- 
man princes, glad of a chance to humble him, threatened to 
elect a new king. Cowed by this general defection, Henry 
resolved to throw himself at the feet of the pope. He ac- 
cordingly crossed the Alps, not, as his predecessors had done, 
at the head of a mighty army, but as a suppliant, with his 
faithful wife. Bertha, carrying his infant son. Reaching 
Oanossa, the king, barefooted, bareheaded, and clad in 
penitent's garb, was kept standing in the snow at the 
castle gate for three days before he was allowed to enter. 
Then, after yielding all to Gregory, he received the kiss of 
peace. 

But this did not allay the strife in Germany. The princes 
elected Rudolph of Swabia as king, and Gregory finally rec- 
ognized the rival monarch. Henry now pushed on the war 
with vigor ; slew Rudolph in battle ; invaded Italy ; and 
appointed a new pope. Gregory, forced to take refuge 
among the Normans, died not long after at Salerno. His 
last words were, "I have loved righteousness and hated 
iniquity; therefore I die in exile." Hildebrand's successor,, 
however, pursued his plans. The tendency of the best minds 
in Europe was toward papal supremacy. Henry's heart was 
softened by misfortune, and experience taught him wisdom ; 
but he could not regain his power, and he died at last, de- 
throned by his unnatural son. 

Henry V. (1106-25), on taking the crown, deserted the 



GERMAN EMPIRE AS^M^M 

TIME OF ^\-^4^2r A 

THE HOHENSTAUFENS "9 ^--n5§''^^^ 




fiTRUTHERS.SERVOSS i 



1122] RISE OF MODERN N ATI NS — G ER M A N Y. 73 

papal party, and stoutly held his father's position. He in- 
vaded Italy, and forced Pope Paschal II. to crown him em- 
peror. But no sooner had Henry recrossed the Alps, than 
the Pope retracted the concessions and excommunicated 
him. 

The Concordat of Worms (1122) finally settled the difficulty 
by a compromise, the investiture being granted to the pope, 
and homage for land to the emperor. The war had lasted 
nearly half a century. Though Henry was now at peace 
with the church, the struggle with the rebellious nobles 
went on through his life. With him ended the Franconian 
line. 

Lothaire II. of Saxony was elected king by the princes, 
and crowned emperor by the pope ; but, after a brief and 
stormy reign, the crown passed to Conrad III. of Swabia, 
who founded 

The Hohenstaufen Line (1138-1254).— He struggled 
long with the Saxons and others who opposed his rule. 
During the siege of Weinsberg,* the rebels raised the war- 
cry of Welf — the name of their leader ; and Conrad^s army, 
that of WaiMmgen — the birthplace of Frederick of Swabia, 
the king's brother. These cries, corrupted by the Italians 
into Guelf and GMlellme, were afterward applied to the 
adherents of the pope and the emperor respectively, and 
for centuries resounded from the Mediterranean to the 
North Sea. Conrad, first of the German emperors, joined 
the Crusaders (p. 94). He died as he was preparing to 
visit Italy to be crowned emperor. 

* Conrad, upon the surrender of this city, resolved to destroy it, but allowed the 
women to take with them such valuables as they could carry. When the gates were 
thrown open, there appeared a long line of women, each staggering beneath the 
weight of her husband or nearest relative. Conrad was so effected by this touching 
scene, that he sp9,red the city. 



74 MEDIAEVAL PKOPLES. [1153. 



HOUSE OF HOHENSTAUFEN. 



Conrad III. (1138-'52). Fredekick of Swabia. 

Frederick Barbarossa (1153-'90). 

I 



Henry VI. (1190-'9T). Philip .(1197-1208). 

Frederick II. (1215-'50). ^OxTO IV. (1209-12r).] 

Conrad IV. (1250-'54). 

I 
C0N1.--DINE (Little Conrad). 

Frederick Barbarossa (the Eed Beard), Conrad Ill's 
nephew, was unanimously chosen king. He proved a 
worthy successor of Charlemagne and Otto I., and his reign 
was one of th^ ost brilliant in the annals of the empire. 
He wielded ' e royal power with terrible force, established 
order, contro iled the dukes, and punished the robber-knights. 
The phantom of the empire, however, allured him into 
Italy. Five times he crossed the Alps with magnificent 
armies, to be wasted by pestilence and the sword. He w^s 
crowned emperor, but only after he had consented to hold 
the pope's stirrup. 

The Italian cities , grown rich and powerful during the 
Crusades, were jealous of their rights and independeifee. 
Frequent wars broke out among them, as in old Greece, and 
the V. eaker cities, oppressed by the stronger, appealed to the 
emperor. The strife of Guelf and Ghibelline waxed hot. 
Quarrels arose with the Holy See. Milan was taken by 
Frederick and razed to the ground. The Lombard cities 
leagued against Frederick. Finally, after years of strife, the 
emperor, beaten on the decisive field of Legnano (1176), 
made p^ace, submitted to the demands of the pope, and 
grantt> the Italian cities their municipal rights. After 
this, contentment and peace marked the evening of Fred- 



117G.] RISE OF MODERN NATIONS — GERMANY. 75 

erick's eventful life. He perished in the Third Cru- 
sade.* (Seep. 94.) 

Henry VI. (1190-'97),t the Cruel, hastened to Italy and 
was crowned emperor at Eome ; thence he invaded Naples 
and Sicily — the inheritance of his wife — where his rapacity 
recalled the days of the Goths and Vandals. His name is 
associated with Richard the Lion-hearted (p. 95). 

Frederick II. (1215-50) had been chosen King of the 
Romans, but he was a child at his father's death, and was 
quite overlooked in Germany, where rival kings were elected. 
When he became of age, the Pope called on the German 
princes to elect him their monarch. He was accordingly 
crowned king at Aix-la-Chapelle, and emperor at Rome. 
His genius and learning made him "The Wonder of the 
World." He spoke in six languages, was versed in natural 
history and philosophy, and skilled in all knightly accom- 
plishments and exercises. More Italian than Teuton, he 
visited Germany only once during thirty years, loving most 
to surround himself with poets, artists, and philosophers, 
in his brilliant Sicilian court. But he became involved in 
quarrels with one pope after another ; he was twice excom- 
municated; again the Italian cities raised the war-cry of 
Guelf and Ghibelline, and he died in the midst of the long 
struggle (p. 89). 

The "G-reat Interregnum."— C'onmfZ IV. (1250-'4) 
was the last Hohenstaufen king of Germany. Already 

* One day while marching through Syria, false news was bronght him of the 
death of his son. Teai's flowed down his beard, now no longer red but white. Sud- 
denly springing up, he shouted, '' My sou is dead, but Christ still lives ! Forward !" 
—Tradition says that the Red Beard sleeps with his knights in a cavern of the Kyff- 
hauser, near the Hartz, and when " the ravens shall cease to hover about the moun- 
tain, and the pear tree shall blossom in the valley," then he shall descend at the 
head of his Crusaders, bringing back to Germany the golden age of peace and unity. 
A beautiful dream, the substance of which has been realized in our own day. 

t Henry had already been chosen successor and crowmed "King of the Romans " 
—a title thenceforth borne by one thus appointed during an emperor's lifetime^ 



76 



MBDIiBVAL PEOPLES. 



[13th cent. 



rival monarch s had been chosen, and, after him, for nearly 
twenty years, the empire had no recognized head. So low 
did German patriotism sink that at one time the crown 
was oifered to the highest bidder. Order became nnknown 
outside of city- walls. Often during these dark days did the 
common people think of Barbarossa, and sigh for the time 
when he should awake from his long sleep and bring back 




ROBBER KNIGHTS IN AMBUbli. 



quiet and safety. At last, even the selfish barons became 
convinced that Germany could not do without a govern- 
ment. The leading princes, who had usurped the right of 
choosing the king and v/ere hence called Electors (p. 79), 
selected Count Rudolf of Hapsbiirg (1273-91). A brave, 
noble-hearted man, he sought to restore order, punish the 
robber-knights, and abolish private wars. 

State of Germany. — The independence of the princes had now 
reached its height. The Hohenstaufens, vainly grasping after power in 
lislj, had neglected their German interests, and Frederick II., for th^ 



RISE OF M0DER:N' KATIONS — GERMANY. 77 

sake of peace, even confirmed the princes in the right they had usurped. 
There were in Germany over sixty free cities, one hundred dukes, 
counts, etc., and one hundred and sixteen spiritual rulers — in all more 
than two hundred and seventy-six separate powers. In proof of the 
arrogance of the nobles, it is said that a certain knight, receiving a 
visit from Barbarossa, remained seated in the emperor's presence, saying 
that he held his lauds in fee of the sun. 

Each nobleman claimed the right of waging war, and, in the little 
district about his castle, was a law to himself. When at peace with 
the neighboring lords, he sj^ent his time in the chase— tramping over 
the crops, and scouring through the woods, with his retainers and 
dogs. In war he watched for his foes, or attacked some merchant-train 
going to or from a city with which he was at feud. Robber-knights 
sallied out from their mountain fastnesses upon the peaceful traveler, 
and, escaping with their booty to their strongholds, bade defiance to 
the feeble power of the law. 

The peasants, more than others, needed a central power, able to 
keep the public peace and enforce justice. They were still feudal 
tenants. There was no one to hear their complaints nor redress their 
wrongs. The lords, encroaching more and more upon their ancient 
privileges, had robbed them of their common rights over the pastures, 
the wild game, and the fish in the streams, until the peasants had be- 
come almost slaves. In fine weather, they were forced to work for 
their lord, while their own little crops were to be cared for on rainy 
days. Even during their holidays they were required to perform 
various services for the people at the castle. Time and again they rose 
to arms, and, elevating the bundschuh, or peasant's clog, struck for 
liberty. But the nobles and knightly-orders combining, always crushed 
the insurrection with terrible ferocity. 

The Feme was a tribunal of justice that sprang up in Westphalia 
from the old Courts of Counts that Charlemagne established. During 
these troublous times it attained great power and spread far and wide, 
appeals being made to it from all parts of Germany. Its proceedings 
were secret, and the deliberations were often held in desolate places, 
or in some ancient seat of justice, as the famous Linden -tree at Dort- 
mund. The death -sentence was always secretly and mysteriously 
executed; the dagger, having the symbol of the Feme, being plunged 
into the body, told how the avenging hand of justice had overtaken 
the criminal. 

The Growth of the Cities was a characteristic of the Middle 
Ages. They formed a powerful restraint upon the feudal lords. Each 
city was a little free state, fortified and provisioned for a siege. Behind 
its walls the old German love of liberty flourished, and views of life 
were cherished quite different from those of the castle and the court. 
The petty quarrels of the barons disturbed the public peace, injured 



78 MEDI^YAL PEOPLES. [13tH CENT. 

trade, and forced tlie merchants to guard their convoys of goods. The 
vassals, constantly escaping from the lords and taking refuge in the 
towns, were a continual source of difference. There was, therefore, 
almost perpetual war between the cities and the nobles. The cities, 
compelled to ally themselves for mutual protection, became more and 
more a power in the land. The EJienish League comprised seventy 
towns, and the ruins of the robber-knights' fastnesses destroyed \)j its 
forces, still exist along the Rhine, picturesque memorials of those law- 
less times. The Hanseatic League, at one period, numbered over eighty 
cities, had its own fleets and armies, and was respected by foreign 
kings. The emperors, finding in the strength of the cities a bulwark 
against the bishops and the princes, constantly extended the municipal 
rights and privileges. The free cities had the emperor for their lord, 
were released from other feudal obligations, and made their own laws, 
subject only to his approval. Every citizen was a freeman, bore arms, 
and was eligible to knighthood. Manufactures and trade throve in the 
favoring air of freedom, and merchant-princes became the equals of 
hereditary nobles. 

[From the middle of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th century, 
Germany was unfruitful of great men or great events. Its history for 
two hundred and fifty years presents only a few points of interest. 
The high dignity of the empire ended with the Hohenstaufens. Hence- 
forth its strongest monarchs were little more than German kings. 
They rarely ventured to cross the Alps, and, when they did so, pro- 
duced only a transient effect ; in time, they assumed the title,of em- 
peror without the coronation by the pope. Italy fell away from the 
imperial control, and Burgundy dropped into the outstretched hands of 
France.] 

Hapsburg or Austrian Line.* — Rudolf renounced the 
rights of the Hohenstaufens in Italy, declaring that Rome 
was like a lion's den, to which the tracks of many animals 
led, but from which none returned. Having acquired Aus- 
tria, Styria, and Oarniola, he conferred these provinces on 
his son, Albert I. (1298-1308), thus laying the foundation of 
the future greatness of the House of Hapsburg, or Austria. 
From the time of Albert II, (1438-'9) until Napoleon broke 
up the empire (p. 257), the electors chose as emperors, with 

* The House of Hapsburg was so named from Rudolf's castle upon the banks of 
the Aar in Switzerland. See List of German Kings in the Appendix. 



1414.] RISE OF MODERK N ATION S — GE RM AN Y. 79 

a single exception, a member of this family, and generally 
its head. Thus Austria gave its strength to the empire, 
and, in turn, the empire gave its dignity to the Hapsburgs. 
Albert's father-in-law, Sigismund (1410 -'37), before he was 
raised to the imperial throne, was King of Hungary, and 
then began the close connection of Austria with that court. 

The Golden Bull (1356)* was a charter granted by 
Charles IV., fixing the electors, and the mode of choosing 
the emperors. It confirmed the custom of having seven 
electors — four temporal and three spiritual lords. The elec- 
tion was to take place at Frankfort and the coronation at 
Aix-la-Ohapelle. The electors were granted sovereign rights 
within their territories, their persons declared sacred, and 
appeals to the emperor denied, save when justice was refused. 
This decree diminished the confusion which had hitherto 
attended the election of king, but it made the electors the 
most powerful persons in the empire, and perpetuated the 
fatal divisions of Germany. In the striking words of Bryce, 
^^It legalized anarchy, and called it a constitution." 

The first university of Germany was founded at Prague by 
Charles IV. ; it became so famous as soon to number seven 
thousand students. 

The Council of Constance (1414) was called by Sigis- 
mund, following the example of Constantino in convening 
the Council of Mce (Anc. Peo., p. 265). The object was to 
reform the church. This was the era of the "Great 
Schism." There were three popes, and their rivalries caused 
general scandal. Eighteen thousand clergymen, including 
cardinals and bishops, with a vast concourse of the chief 
vassals of the crown, learned men, knights, and ambassadors 
from the Christian powers, were present. The popes were 
all deposed, and a new one, Martin V., was chosen. 

* So-named from the knob of gold (bulla aurea) in whicli its seal was enclosed. 



80 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [15th CENT. 

John Muss, rector of the university at Prague, who had 
adopted the views of Wycliffe, the English reformer, and 
attacked certain doctrines of the church, was summoned to 
appear before the Council. Under a safe-conduct from the 
emperor, Huss came ; but was tried, convicted of heresy, 
and burned at the stake (1415).* His ashes were thrown 
into the Ehine, to prevent his followers from gathering 
them. The next year, Jerome of Prague, who brought 
Wycliffe's writings to the university, suffered death in the 
same place. 

Hussite War (1419-35). — The Bohemians, roused to 
fury by the death of their favorite teacher and by subse- 
quent persecutions, flew to arms. Under Ziska, " the one- 
eyed," they learned to strike unerringly with their farmers' 
flails, to wield heavy iron maces, and to shelter themselves 
behind wagons bound with chains. The emperor's troops 
fled before them, often without a blow. It was sixteen 
years before Bohemia was subdued. 

House of Hohenzollern. — Sigismund being in want of 
money, sold Brandenburg and its electoral dignity for four 
hundred thousand gold florins, to Frederick, Count of 
Hohenzollern (1415). The new elector vigorously ruled his 
possession, with gunpowder battered down the " castle walls, 
fourteen feet thick," of the robber- knights, and restored 
order and quiet. His descendants to-day occupy tire throne 
of Prussia. 

The Diet of Worms (1495), summoned by Maximilian 

* When addressing the council, Sigismund said, "Date operam, ut ilia nefanda 
schisma eradicetui'." Upon a cardinal remarking to him that "schisma" is of the 
neuter gender, he replied, " I am liing of the Romans and ahove grammar I "—When 
the executioner was about to light the pile from behind, Jerome called out, " Set in 
front; had I dreaded fire I should not have been here." Sylvius (afterward Pope 
Pius II.), in his History of Bohemia, says, "Both Huss and Jerome made haste to 
the fire as if they were invited to a feast ; when they began to burn they sang a 
hymn, and scarcely could the flames and the crackling of the fire stop their 
singing." 



RISE OP MODERN NATIONS^SWITZERLAND. 81 

(1493-1519)^ decreed a Perpetual Peace, abolished tlic right 
of private war, and established tlie Impe7nal Chamher of 
J list ice, with power to declare the ban of tlie empire. In 
order to carry out the decisions of this body, Maximilian 
divided the empire into Ten Circles^ each having its tribunal 
for settling disputes. He also founded the Aulic Council or 
court of appeal from the lower courts in Germany. The old 
Eoman law rapidly came into use in these tribunals. There 
was now a promise of order in this distracted country. 

Maximilian's Marriage with Mary of Burgundy, the 
beautiful daughter of Charles the Bold (p. 64), added her 
rich dower to the House of Austria. 

The End of the Middle Ages was marked by the reign 
of Maximilian, and this monarch is known in German 
history as the "Last of the knights." Gunpowder had 
changed the character of war, printing was invented, feudal 
forms and forces were dying out, and the Reformation was 
coming on apace. 

IV. SWITZERLAND. 

Origin. — -The confederation of the three Forest Cantons — 
Schwyz, TJri, and Unterwalden — clustered about the beauti- 
ful lake of Lucerne, was the germ of Switzerland. They were 
German lands owing allegiance to the emperor, and their 
league for mutual defence was like that of otlier districts 
and cities of the empire. Eudolf, himself a Swiss count, 
had estates in these cantons, and, being popular with his 
former neighbors, was chosen as their protector ; but the 
tyranny of his son Albert, the duke of Austria, when 
lie became emperor, roused these brave mountaineers to 
assert their independence.* Three great battles mark the 
successive stages in their struggle for liberty. 

* One November night in 1307, a little company met under the open sky and 



82 MEDI^TAL PEOPLES. 

Battle of Morgarten (1315).— Albert was assassinated 
while marching to crush the rising, but his successor 
Leopold, duke of Austria, invaded Switzerland with an army 
of fifteen thousand men, ostentatiously bearing ropes for 
hanging the chief rebels. The Swiss, only thirteen hundred 
in all, after a day of fasting and prayer, took post in the 
defile of Morgarten — the Thermopylae of Switzerland. 
Fifty outlaws, denied the privilege of fighting with the 
main body, were stationed on a cliff overlooking the 
entrance. When the heavy-armed cavalry were well in the 
pass, the band of exiles suddenly let fall an avalanche of 
stones and timber. This throwing the Austrian column 
into confusion, the Swiss rushed down with their halberts 
and iron-shod clubs. The flower of the Austrian chivalry 
fell on that ill-fated day. Leopold himself escaped only by 
the aid of a peasant, who led him through by-paths over 
the mountain. 

Battle of Sempach (1386). — About seventy years passed 
when Leopold — a nephew of the one who fought at Mor- 
garten — sought to subdue the League. He found the patriots 
posted near the little lake of Sempach. The Austrian 
knights, dismounting, formed a solid body clad in armor 
from head to foot, and with long projecting spears. The 

solemnly swore to defend their liberty. This was the birthday of Swiss independ- 
ence. The next New Year's was fixed for the uprising. Meanwhile Gessler, an Aus- 
trian governor, set up a hat in the market-place of Altorf and commanded all to bow 
to it in homage. William Tell, passing by with his little son, refused this obeisance. 
Brought before Gessler, he was doomed to die unless he could shoot an arrow 
through an apple placed on his boy's head. Tell pierced the apple, but the tyrant, 
noticing a second arrow concealed in his belt, asked its purpose. "For thee," was 
the reply, " if the first had struck my son." Enraged, Gessler ordered him to a 
prison upon the opposite shore of the lake. While crossing, a storm arose, and in 
the extremity of the danger Gessler unloosed Tell, hoping by his skill to reach land. 
As they neared the rocky shore, Tell leaped out, and, hiding in the glen, shot Gess- 
ler as he passed.— This romantic story is thought by critics to have been, at least, 
much adorned by tradition, but the memory of Tell is still dear to the Swiss, and 
every traveler in that land is shown the chapel that stands upon the rock to which 
the hero leaped from Gessler' s boat. 



RISE OF MODERK N ATIONS — S W ITZE RL AK D. 83 

Swiss, first dropping on tlieir knees and offering prayer, 
advanced to the charge. But the forest of spears resisted 
every attack. Sixty of their little band had fallen, and not 
one of the enemy had received a wound. At this crisis, 
Arnold Von Winkelried rushed forward, shouting, "I Avill 
open a way ; take care of my wife and children." Then, sud- 
denly gathering in his arms as many spears as he could reach, 
he buried them in his bosom and bore them to the ground. 
The wall of steel was broken. His comrades rushed over 
his body to victory. 

Another triumph at Ndfels, two years later, and the Swiss 
confederates were left undisturbed for many years. 

Growth of the Confederacy. — Lucerne, Berne, and 
other cities, early joined the League; in. the middle of 
the 14th century it comprised the so-called Eigl,t Ancient 
Cantons. The victory over Charles the Bold greatly 
strengthened the Swiss Confederation. Swiss soldiers were 
henceforth in demand, and thousands left the homely fare 
and honest simplicity of their native land, to enlist as mer- 
cenaries under the banners of neighboring princes. 

At the end of the 15th century, Maximilian sought to 
restore the imperial authority over the Swiss, but failed, and 
by an honorable peace practically acknowledged their inde- 
pendence, though it was not formally granted until the 
Treaty of Westphalia (p. 179).* 

* It is curious that though the names Swiss and Switzerland, derived from that 
of the chief canton, early came into use, they were not formally adopted until the 
present century. 



84 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



ITALY IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 

Italy in the 10th Century, after the fall of tlie Car- 
lovingians, was a scene of frightful disorder. A crowd of 
petty sovereignties sprang up, and the rival dukes disputed 
for their titles with dagger and poison. When Otto the 
Great restored the Holy Eoman Empire, the fortunes of 
Italy became blended with those of Germany. During the 
long contest between the pope and the emperor, the feudal 
lords and the cities sided with either as best suited their 
interest. For centuries the strife of Guelf and Ghibelline 
convulsed the peninsula. 

Power of the Popes. — We have seen how, upon the 
ruins of pagan Eome, the church founded a new empire. 
Many causes combined to extend her power. Amid the 
gloom of the Dark Ages, the lights of learning and piety 
burned brightly within monastery walls. The convents and 
their lands were isles of peace in a sea of violence and wrong. 
The monks of St. Benedict divided their time among acts 
of devotion, copying of manuscripts, and tilling of land. 
Education was almost forgotten by the laity. The clergy 
alone could read and write, as well as use the Latin lan- 
guage — then the general medium of communication among 
different nations. Priests were therefore the teachers, secre- 
taries, and ambassadors of kings. 

The church afforded a refuge to the oppressed. None 
was too lowly for her sympathy, while the humblest man 
in her ranks could rise to the highest office of trust and 
honor. When Feudalism was triumphant and kings were too 
weak and men too ignorant to oppose it, hers was the only 
power that could restrain the fierce baron, and enforce the 
Truce of God. With the gift of Pepin, the pope became a 



1000.] ITALY IN- THE MIDDLE AGES. 85 

political prince, and as such continued to extend his Italian 
possessions. 

The 11th century brought a great increase of papal power. 
A current belief (founded on Eev. xx. 1-7) that the world 
would come to an end in the year 1000, checked the ravages 
of war. Lands and money were freely bestowed upon the 
church, and when the time passed and the world still stood, 
men's hearts, touched even through their coats of mail, 
softened with gratitude, and king and lord vied in erecting 
magnificent cathedrals, whose ruins are to-day the admira- 
tion of the world. The Crusades also greatly strengthened 
the power of the pope (p. 91). 

For centuries a command from Eome was obeyed through- 
out Christendom. When Pepin wished to depose the do- 
nothing sovereign, he appealed to Rome for permission ; 
when Charlemagne was to take the title of emperor, it 
was the pope who placed the crown upon his head ; when 
AVilliam the Conqueror desired to invade England, he first 
secured permission from the pope ; when Henry II. longed 
for Ireland, Adrian IV. granted it to him on the ground 
that all islands belonged to the Holy See; and so late 
even as 1493, Pope Alexander VI. divided between the 
Spanish and the Portuguese their discoveries in the New 
World. 

The papal power, however, reached its zenith in the begin- 
ning of the loth century, under Innocent III. He acquired 
independent sovereignty in Italy, gave to Peter of Aragon 
his kingdom as a fief, compelled Philip Augustus of France 
to receive back the wife he had put away, crushed the 
Albigenses, and imposed a tribute upon John of England. 
He claimed to be an earthly king of kings, and the papal 
thunder, enjoining peace and punishing public and private 
offences, rolled over every nation in Europe. 



86 MEDIAEVAL PEOPLES. 

The decline of the papal power was made evident in the 
14th century by the residence of the popes in France, known 
in church history as the Babylonish captivity (1305-'77). 
Thus, the contest between Boniface YIII. and Philip IV. 
ended very differently from the War of Investiture between 
Henry IV. and Gregory VII. 

The 15th century is noted for its ecclesiastical councils, 
which gave to the monarch a court of appeal from the 
decisions of the Holy See. The councils of Constance and 
Bale sought to change the government of the church from 
an absolute to a limited sovereignty. Charles VII. of 
France, by a national assembly, adopted several decrees of 
the latter council ; and the Pragmatic Sanction, as this was 
termed, rendered the Galilean church more independent and 
national. The tendency to curb the papal authority, a pre- 
cursor of the Eeformation, was now rife throughout Europe. 
The weakness caused by the Great Schism iiivited opposi- 
tion, and Eome was forced to confine its political action 
mainly to Italian affairs. 

Italian Cities. — With the decline of the imperial rule in 
Italy, many of its cities, like those of Old Greece, became 
free, strong, and powerful. Four especially, Venice, Flor- 
ence, Pisa, and Genoa, attained great importance. The 
Italian ships brought thither the rich products of the East, 
and her merchants, called Lombards,* distributed them 
over Europe. The trading princes of Genoa and Venice 
controlled the money of the world, and became the first 
bankers — the bank of Venice dating from 1171. The 
progress of commerce and manufacture made these cities, 
in the elegance of their buildings and the extent of their 

* The street in London where these merchants settled, is s^^Ul known as Lom- 
bard Street. The three balls— the sign of a pawnbroker's shop— are the arms 
of Lombardy, being assumed when the Lombards were the money-lenders of fe- 
rope. 



ITALY IN" THE MIDDLE AGES. 



Si 



wealth, the rivals of any nation of their time, and their 
alliance was eagerly sought 
by the most powerful 
kings. 

Venice was founded in y-^ ^ | -^ ^^ ^\ _> 

the 5th century by refu- ^9^^^^^r t & ^ 
gees from Attila's invasion 





SCENES IN VENICE. 



(Anc. Peo., i^. 269) ; her ruler was a 
Doge ; her patron saint was St. 
Mark. The Queen of the Adriatic 
early became a great naval power, 
rendered valuable assistance in 
transporting the Crusaders, carried 
on sanguinary wars with Genoa, 
and finally reigned supreme in the Mediterranean. 



B8 MEDi^t^AL PEOPLES. 

In the 14th and 15th centuries the government grew into 
an oppressive oligarchy, the secret Council of Ten, like the 
Spartan Ephors, controlling the Doge and holding the 
threads of life and death. The dagger, the poisoned ring, 
the close gondola, the deep silent canal, the Bridge of Sighs, 
and the secret cell beyond — all linger in the mysterious his- 
tory of the time. But the golden period of her commerce 
passed when Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good 
Hope, and discovered a new route to the Indies. 

Florence, originally a colony of Roman soldiers, in the 
13th century became one of the chief cities of Italy. While 
Venice, like Sparta of old, had an aristocratic government, 
that of Florence resembled democratic Athens. The Floren- 
tine jewellers, goldsmiths, and bankers brought the city 
renown and wealth. The citizens were curiously organized 
into companies or guilds of the different trades and profes- 
sions, with consuls, banners, and rules of government. In 
case of any disturbance, the members rallied about their 
respective .standards.* 

The Family of the Medici {med'e-che), during the 15th 
century, obtained control in the state, though without 
changing the form of government. Cosmo de' Medici — the 
" father of his country," his grandson — Lorenzo the Mag- 
nificent, and Giovanni— better known as Pope Leo X.,f 
patronized literary men and artists, encouraged the copying 
of manuscripts, and revived a knowledge of the treasures of 

* The city was rent by fractional feuds not only of the Ghlbellines and Guelfs, hut 
also of the Guelfs themselves, who were divided into two parties— Whites and 
Blacks. These were constantly fighting, and besieging each other's houses. Here, 
as well as elsewhere in Italy, the mansions of the nobles were fortresses, massively 
built of masonry, often furnished with lofty towers, and having, instead of windows 
below, only apertures covered by huge, wrought-iron grates. 

+ Pope Leo, in order to complete the building of the magnificent cathedral of St. 
Peter's at Kome authorized the sale of the indulgences that kindled the fires of the 
Reformation. Thus the Medici love of art and the grandeur of St. Peter's are indis- 
solubly connected with the establishment of the Protestant religion. 



ITALY IN" THE MIDDLE AGES. 89 

Grecian architecture, sculpture, poetry, and philosophy. 
The study of the antique masterpieces led to the founding 
of a new school of art, known as the Italian Eenaissance. 
In this brilliant period of Florentine history flourished 
Michael Angelo — poet, sculptor, and painter; the renowned 
artists, Raphael and Leonardo di Vinci ; and the famous 
reformer, Savonarola, afterward burned for heresy. 

The Two Sicilies. — After Charlemagne's time, the 
Arabs conquered Sicily. In the 11th century — that era of 
Norman adventure — the Normans invaded Southern Italy, 
and seized the lands held by the Saracens and the Eastern 
emperor. They finally subdued Naples and Sicily, and 
founded the kingdom of the Two Sicilies : so a " French- 
speaking king ruled over Arabic-speaking Mohammedans 
and Greek-speaking Christians." 

The crown was transferred to the Hohenstaufens by the 
marriage of its heiress, Constance, to the emperor Henry VI. 
The polished court of Frederick II. made Naples the centre 
of civilization and culture, but the youthful Conradin — the 
last heir of the Hohenstaufens — perished on the scaffold in 
its market-place, in full sight of the beautiful inheritance he 
had lost so untimely. 

The kingdom then fell to the papal nominee, Charles of 
Anjou, brother of Saint Louis of France. The Sicilians, 
however, hated the French for their tyranny ; and one day 
a soldier, by insulting a bride in the cathedral, enraged the 
populace to a revolt. As the vesper-bell rang on Easter 
Monday, 1282 (a date known as that of the Sicilian Vespers), 
the ever-ready Italian stiletto leaped from its sheath ; scarcely 
a Frenchman survived the horrible massacre that followed. 
The Two Sicilies afterward remained separate until (1435) 
they were united under Alfonso V. of Aragon. 

Rome was naturally the focus of the long strife between 



90 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



Ghibellines and Giielfs, and thither the Grerman kings came, 
arms in hand, to demand the imperial crown. During the 
Babylonish captivity, the city was convulsed by deadly 
feuds between the noble families of the Orsini, Oolonna, and 

Savelli The 
famous monu- 
ments of the 
elder Eome — 
the Arch of 
Titus and the 
Colosseum — 
were fortified 
as the strong- 
holds of rival 
clans. At this 
time, Rienzi 
sought to re- 
vive the an- 
cient republic' 
(1347). Of 
humble origin, 
he was the 
friend of Pe- 
trarch, the poet, and possessed 
a fiery eloquence that moved 
the masses. Elected tribune, he ruled for seven months, but, 
forgetting the simplicity of the olden time, he dressed in silk 
and gold, and was preceded by heralds with silver trumpets 
to announce his approach. The nobles rose against him, 
the people fell away, and the " Last of the Tribunes" was 
slain in a street riot. 




THE ARCH OF TITUS, 



THE CRUSADES. 



91 



THE CRUSADES (1095-1270). 

Origin. — Palestine, the land made sacred for all time by 
the presence of Christ, had, from the earliest ages of the 
church, a strong attraction for believers. A pilgrimage to 
Jerusalem, or other hallowed spot, became the most popular 
of penances. In tlie general belief, to atone for the greatest 




CRUSADERS ON THE MARCH. 



sin, one had only to bathe in the Jordan, or spend a night 
on Calvary. The number of pilgrims greatly increased about 
the year 1000, many desiring to await in the Holy Land the 
coming of the Lord. The Saracens welcomed the j^ilgrims ; 
but the Turks, who afterward conquered Palestine, inflicted 
upon them every outrage that fanaticism could invent. 
Each returning palmer told a fresh tale of horror. Peter 



9^ 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



[11th cent. 



the Hermit, stirred by what he saw in Jerusalem, resolved to 
rescue the Holy Sepulchre. With bare head and feet, 
dressed in a coarse robe tied with a cord, bearing a crucifix 
in his hand, and riding an ass, this fierce monk traversed 
Italy and France. Pope Urban H. supported his burning 
appeals. At a council held at Clermont, the assembled mul- 
titude shouted with one impulse, ^^God wills it!" Thou- 
sands volunteered for the holy war, and fastened to their gar- 
ments the red cross — 
the symbol of this sa- 
cred vow. 

The First Crusade 
(1096)* numbered over 
half a million fighting 
men under Godfrey, 
duke of Bouillon. There 
were one hundred thou- 
sand steel-clad knights, 
including such nobles as 
Eobert of Normandy, 
eldest son of William 
the Conqueror; Bohe- 
mond, son of Eobert 
Guiscard, the I^orman 
founder of the kingdom of Sicily; Hugh, brother of Philip I. 
of France; and Tancred, next to Godfrey, the pattern of 
chivalry. 

* Prior to this, Peter the Hermit and a poor knight named Walter the Penniless, 
set off with a motley rabble of three hundred thousand men, women, and children. 
Without order or discipline, they crossed Europe, robbing the inhabitants and killing 
the Jews wherever they went. So great was the delusion, that farmers took their 
families with them in carts drawn by oxen ; and the children, carrying mimic 
swords, sported about, and shouted, whenever they saw a castle or town, " Isn't that 
Jerusalem ?" Thousands of the fanatical crowd were slain en route by the outraged 
people. The pitiable remnant fell beneath the Turkish sabre, and their bleached 
bones served to fortify the camp of the second crusaders. 




THE TOMB OF GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 



109G.] THE CRUSADES. 93 

This great army poured into Constantinople.* The em- 
peror Alexis qnickly passed his unwelcome guests into Asia. 
Nice and Antioch were captured after bloody sieges. Finally, 
the Crusaders, reduced to only twenty thousand men, ap- 
proached Jerusalem. When they came in sight of the Holy 
City, the hardy warriors burst into tears, and in a transport 
of joy kissed the earth. It was forty days before they could 
pull down the Crescent from the walls.f Then, forgetting 
the meekness of the Saviour whose tomb they were seeking, 
and in spite of Godfrey's and Tancred's protests, they mas- 
sacred seventy thousand infidels, and burned the Jews in 
their synagogue. As evening came 
on, while the streets still ran with 
blood, they threw off their helmets, 
bared their feet, entered the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre, sang hymns 
of praise, and partook of the com- 
munion. 

Godfrey was now elected king of 
Jerusalem, but he refused to wear a ^"^^^^ °^ ™^ templars.:]: 
crown of gold where his master had borne one of thorns. 
He was therefore styled Baron of the Holy Sepulchre : on 
his death, the crown fell to Baldwin, his brother. War was 
continually waged betAveen the Christians in the Holy City 
and their Mohammedan neighbors. During these contests, 
there arose two famous military religious orders — the Hospi- 
tallers, who w^ore a white cross on a black mantle, and the 
Templars, whose badge was a red cross on a white mantle. 
They vowed obedience, celibacy, and poverty; to defend 

* The haughty Teutons looked with contempt on the effeminate Greeks, and a 
rough baron rudely ascended the imperial throne, and sat down beside the monarch. 

t Jerusalem was then held by the Saracenic caliph of Egypt, who had wrested 
Palestine from the Turks. 

\ Two knights on one horse, to indicate the original poverty of the order, 




94 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [12th CENT. 

pilgrims ; and to be the first in battle and the last in 
retreat. 

Second Crusade (1147). — Half a century passed, when 
the swarming Saracens seemed about to overwhelm the little 
Frank kingdom in Palestine. St. Bernard now preached a 
new Crusade. Louis VII. of France and Conrad III. of 
Germany led across Europe three hundred thousand men.* 
But the treacherous emperor of the East cut off their food, 
and betrayed the Germans to the Turks amid the mountains 
of Ca|)padocia. The French, more as pilgrims than soldiers, 
reached Jerusalem, and, Conrad having joined Louis, the 
two monarchs laid siege to Damascus. Beaten back from 
its walls, they abandoned the Crusade in humiliation. 

Third Crusade (1189). — Forty years elapsed, when the 
Egyptian sultan, Saladin, chief of Moslem warriors for 
courage and courtesy, took Jerusalem. The news convulsed 
Europe with grief. Eichard Coeur de Lion, Philip Augus- 
tus, and Frederick Barbarossa assumed the Cross. Frederick 
took a magnificent army across Hungary. While marching 
through Asia Minor, in attempting to swim a swollen stream, 
he was drowned.,, 

Eichard and Philip, conveying their troops by sea, had 
captured Acre— the key to Palestine — when the French 
king, jealous of the Lion-hearted's prowess and fame,t re- 

* Louis was accompanied by qtieen Eleanor (afterward divorced, and married to 
Henry 11., p. 50), leading a body of women clad in knightly array; and Conrad was 
followed by a similar band, whose chief, with her gilt spurs and buskins, was called 
the Golden-footed Dame. 

t The fame of Eichard's valor lingered long in the East. Mothers stilled their 
children by uttering his dreaded name ; and, M'hen the Moslem and Christian host 
had been dust for many years, horsemen would shout to a shying steed, " Dost thou 
think it is King Kichard?" In thousands of English homes, men idolized the Lion- 
hearted, in spite of his cruelty, tlie uselessness of his triumphs, and the weakness of 
his reign. Saladin' s admiration, too, was roused by Richard's valor. In the midst 
of battle, his brother sent begging of the English king the honor of knighthood ; and 
when Philip and Richard lay tossing with fever in their tents before Acre, their gen- 
erous foe forwarded them presents of pears and 8no\y» 



12Tn CENT.] 



THE CRUSADES. 



95 



turned home. Eichard pressed on, and at last reached a 
hill whence he could see Jerusalem, twenty miles away. 
Hesitating to attack the city, he covered his face and sadly 
tuiTied back, declaring that he who was "unwilling to rescue 
was unworthy to view the sepulchre of Christ." 

On his return through Germany, Richard was thrown into 
prison by Leopold, duke of Austria, whom he had grievously 

insulted in Palestine. 

C^* ^:^-t is M V^j .<=^-~ I ' \ \J After a time he was 

turned over to the 
German emperor, 
Henry VI. The Eng- 
lish people, to ransom 
their gallant king, 
were forced to give 
one-fourth of their 
incomes, and even to 
pawn the church 
plate. 

This was the last 
Crusade that reached 
Palestine in force. 
The subsequent ex- 
peditions were direct- 
ed to other objects. 

The Fourth Cru- 
sade (1202) was sent 
out by Henry YI., 
the Lion-hearted's jailor. Transports were obtained from 
the Venetians, by agreeing to take Zara, a city of Dalmatia, 
for the Doge. The Crusaders next sailed for Constantino- 
ple, to restore its dethroned emperor Isaac. They stormed 
the city, plundered its palaces, and destroyed its precious 




96 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



[13th cent. 



monuments. A Latin emj^ire was now established at Con- 
stantinople. This lasted half a century, and there seemed a 
hope of reuniting the Eastern and the Western church ; but 
the Greeks recovered the Byzantine capital (1261).* 
The Fifth Crusade (1218), led by the King of Hungary, 

was finally directed to 
Egypt, as it was thought 
that the conquest of that 
country would be a step 
toward the recovery of 
Palestine. It ended in 
defeat. 




ST. LOUIS LANDING IN EGYPT. 



The Sixth Crusade (1228) was a pacific one. The Ger- 
man emperor Frederick II., although under an interdict 

* The Children's Crusade (1212) well illustrates the wild folly of the times. Thirty 
thousand French boys, led by a peasant youth named Stephen, started to do what so 
many armies had failed to accomplish. After innumerable hardships they reached 
Marseilles. Here they were induced by unscrupulous traders to take ship. Instead 
of going to Palestine, they landed in Africa, and large numbers of these unhappy 
children were sold as slaves in the Saracen markets. 



13th cent.] thecrusadeS. 97 

from the pope, went to Palestine, by a treaty with the sul- 
tan freed Jerusalem and Bethlehem from the infidels, and, 
entering the Holy City, crowned himself king. A few years 
later, a horde of Asiatic Turks, fleeing before the Mongols 
under Genghis Khan (p. 99), overwhelmed the country. 

The Seventh and Eighth Crusades (1249, 1270) were 
conducted by Saint Louis. In the first expedition, lie landed 
in Egypt, but was taken prisoner, and his release secured 
only by a heavy ransom ; in the second, he went to Tunis, 
with the wild hope of baptizing its Mohammedan king. 
Instead of a proselyte, he found a grave. With the death of 
Saint Louis, the spirit of the Crusades expired. Soon after, 
the Mohammedans captured Acre — the last Christian strong- 
hold in Palestine. 

Effects of the Crusades.— Though these vast military expe- 
ditions had failed of their direct object, they had produced marked 
results. By staying tlie tide of Mohammedan conquest, they doubtless 
saved Europe from the horrors of Saracenic invasion. Commerce had 
received a great impulse, and a profitable trade had sprung up between 
the East and the West. Tlie Italian cities had grown rich and power- 
ful ; wliile the European states, coming into contact with the more 
polished nations of the East, had gained refinement and culture. 

Many a haughty and despotic baron had been forced to grant munici- 
pal rights to some city, or sell land to some rich merchant, to procure 
funds for his outfit ; thus there slowly grew up, between the lord and 
the peasant, a strong middle class. 

As the popes led in the Crusades, their influence increased immensely 
during this period. The departing crusaders received special privi- 
leges from the church, while their person and property were under its 
immediate protection. Many knights willed their estates to a neighbor- 
ing monastery, and, as few returned from the East, the church thus 
acquired vast wealth. 



98 



Medieval peoples. 




siHvSijr » coi.Hocs.T'i 



THE MOORS IN SPAIN. 



After the Moorish Conquest, tlie wreck of the Visi- 
goths found refuge among the mountains of x4sturias. 
Gradually they gained strength, and began to win back the 
land of their fathers. Nowhere was the Crusade against the 
Saracen waged more gallantly. Early in the 13th century 
there were firmly established in the peninsula four Christian 
kingdoms — Portugal, Aragon, Castile, and Navarre — while 
the Moorish power had shrunk to the single province of 
Granada, The free constitutions of Aragon and Castile 
guaranteed the liberties of the people, and in the Cortes, or 
national assemblies of these kingdoms, the third estate se- 
cured a place long before representation was granted the 
commons of any other European country. The marriage 
of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile (1469), laid 



1492.] ASIA IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 99 

the foundation of the Spanish power. Tliese illustrious 
sovereigns resolved to expel the infidels from their last 
stronghold. Town after town was taken. The old Moorish 
castles and towers, impregnable to battering-ram or cata- 
pult, crumbled before the cannon of the Spanish engineers. 
Finally, the time came, as Ferdinand said, 'Ho pick out the 
last seed of the Moorish pomegranate." * The city of 
Granada was invested. After an eight-months siege. King 
Abdallah gave up the keys of the Alhambra. f It was now 
1492, the year of the discovery of America. 

ASIA IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 

The principal Asiatic nations which influenced history 
during this period were the Mongols, and the Turks. These 
were Tartar races having their home on the yast plateau 
of mid- Asia. 

The Mongols came into prominence in the 13th cen- 
tury, under Genghis Khan. This chief of a mere petty 
horde subdued the neighboring tribes, and then organized 
and disciplined the whole Tartar manhood into one enor- 
mous army of horsemen. The result was appalling. The 
world had not seen since the time of Alexander such expedi- 
tions as this incomparable cavalry now made. If Attila was 
in Europe the ''Scourge of God," much more did Genghis 
in Asia deserve that epithet. Fifty thousand cities, with 
their treasures of art, and five million human lives, were sac- 
rificed to his thirst for plunder and power. The sons and 
grandsons of Genghis followed up his conquests, until the 
Mongul Empire finally reached from the Pacific Ocean to the 
banks of the Vistula in Poland. 

* Granada is the Spanish word for pomegranate. 

t The fallen monarch, riding away, paused upon a rock, still known as the " Last 
Bigh of the Moor," to take a final view of the beautiful country and the "pearl of 
palaces" which he had lost. As he burst into tears, his mother exclaimed, "It hefits 
you to j|?ew»U life? » \7oman what you could uoj; (Jefeud Ijke a waiJ," 



100 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. [1402. 

This mighty empire fell in pieces during the next century ; 
but about 1369 there arose a descendant of Grenghis named 
Timour, or Tamerlane, who sought to reunite the Mongul 
conquests. He conquered Great Tartary and Persia, and 
invaded India — crossing the Indus where Alexander did. 
Turning thence into Asia Minor, he defeated the sultan of 
the Ottoman Turks, Bajazet (lightning), upon the plains of 
Angora (1402) ; but afterward, marching to invade China, 
he died en route. His armies and empire quickly melted 
away. The track of the ferocious conqueror in his devas- 
tating path across Asia was marked by the pyramids of 
human heads he erected as monuments of his victories. 

Baler — a descendant of Tamerlane — followed up the con- 
quest of India, and established his capital at Delhi. There 
the "Great Moguls" long ruled in magnificence, erecting 
mosques and tombs that are yet the admiration of the trav- 
eler. The last of the Mogul emperors died almost in our 
own day, being still prayed for in every mosque in India, 
though confined to his palace by the English army, and liv- 
ing upon an English pension. 

The Turks. — (1) The SeljuMan Turks, about the time 
of the Norman Conquest, captured Bagdad, and their chief 
received from the caliph the high-sounding title of Com- 
mander of the Faithful. In 1076 they seized Jerusalem, 
where their brutal treatment of the pilgrims caused, as we 
have seen, the Crusades. The fragments of this first Turk- 
ish empire were absorhed in the dominions of Genghis Khan. 
(2) The Ottoman Turlcs were so named from Othman 
(1299-1326), the founder of their empire. His son Orchan 
created the famous force of Janizaries* (new troops), and a 

* The stoutest and handsomest of the captive youth were annually selected for 
service in the army. Educated in the religion of their masters, and trained to arms, 
they formed, like the Prsetori^n Gu^rd of Rome, a powerful body-guard that was tli§ 
terror of Europe, 



15th cent.] fall of CONSTANTINOPLE. 



101 



body of his warriors, crossing tlie Hellespont-, gained a foot- 
ing on European soil — the first in Turkish history (1356) ; 
his grandson Amurath captured Adrianople ; his great- 
grandson Bajazet, in the battle of Nicopolis (139G), routed 
the chivalry of Hungary and France, ravaged Greece, and 
was finally checked only by a stronger Asiatic conqueror, 
the dreaded Tamerlane. 

Half a century passed, when Mohammed II., with an army 
of over two hundred and fifty thousand Turks, sat down be- 
fore Constantinople. Artillery of unwonted size and power 
battered its walls for fifty-three days. The Janizaries at 
length burst through. The emperor Constantine, the last 
of the Caesars, was slain, sword in hand, in the breach, and 
the Byzantine empire that had lasted one thousand and 
fifty-eight years, fell to rise no m.ore. The crescent replaced 
the cross on the dome of St. Sophia. It was the closing 
event of the Middle Ages (1453).* 

* The pupil will notice that while the fall of Constantinople is taken by historians 
as the event which marked the close of the Middle Ages, there was really a transition 
period from the Middle Ages to Modern History, the length and date of which varied 
among the different nations. Each people had its own dawn and sunrise, and for 
itself entered into the day of modern civilization and progress. 




MOHAMMEDAN EMBLEMS. 



102 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION. 

Rise of Feudalism. — The Roman government had sometimes 
granted lands on condition of military service ; the Franks followed 
a chief as their personal lord. Out of these two old-time customs there 
grew up a new system which was destined to influence society and 
politics throughout Europe for centuries. This was 

The Feudal System.— We have seen how the brave freemen 
who followed the Teuton Chief shared in the land acquired by con- 
quest, each man's portion being called his Allod (from od, an estate) 
and becoming his personal property. But in those troublous times 




SERFS OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 
(From MS. of the Time.) 



men had to fight to retain what they had won. So it came to pass 
that a king, instead of keeping a great standing army to guard his 
scattered possessions or to prosecute foreign wars, granted a part of 
his estates as fiefs ov feuds to his nobles. In this transaction he, as 
their suzerain, promised to them justice and protection, and they, as 
his vassals, agreed not only to serve him in person, but to furnish upon 
his call a certain number of armed men ready and equipped for active 
military service. In like manner the vassals of the crown granted estates 
to their followers ; and, in time, most of the allodial owners were glad to 
swear fealty to some great lord in order to secure his protection. Pow- 
erful nobles became vassals of kings, and kings themselves were 
vassals of other kings, — as was William the Conqueror, who, as Duke 
of Normandy, owed homage to the dissolute Philip I. of France. Not 
laymen alone but bishops and monastic bodies held their lands by 
military service, and were bound to f urnisli their quota of soldiers. 



MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION. 103 

These different bands of armed men, collected together, formed the 
feudal army of the kingdom. Thus, in place of the solid, highly or- 
ganized, Roman legion, there was a motley array furnished and com- 
manded by the great nobles of the realm, each of whom was followed 
by an enormous retinue of knights, esquires, and lesser nobles, leading 
the military contingent of their respective manors or estates. 

Li France, by the 11th century, feudalism was full grown and its 
evils were at their height. The country was covered by a complete 
net- work of fiefs, and even the most simple privileges, such as the right 
to cross a certain ford, or to fish in some small creek, were held by 
feudal tenure. In this way one lord was frequently both suzerain and 
vassal to his neighbor lord. As the royal power had become almost 
paralyzed, the French dukes and counts ruled their compact domains 
like independent kings. Sheltered in their castles and surrounded by 
their followers, they made war, formed alliances, and levied taxes at 
their pleasure. 

In England, the Norman Conqueror, knowing well the French mis- 
rule, prevented a like result by making all landholders, great and small, 
owe direct fealty to himself, and by widely scattering the estates of 
each tenant-in-chief.* 

Feudal Ceremonies.— ^bma^fe, Fealty, Investiture. — When a 
vassal received a fief, lie did homage therefor on bended knee, ungirt 
and bareheaded, placing his joined hands in those of his lord, and 
promising to become " his man " from that day forth.. The vassal was 
bound, among his other obligations, always to defend his lord's good 
name, to give him his horse if dismounted in battle, to be his hostage 
if he were taken prisoner, and to pay him specified sums of money 
(aids) on particular occasions — such as the marriage of the lord's eldest 
daughter, or the knighting of the lord's eldest son. 

Fealty did not include the obligation to become the lord's man, nor 
to pledge everything for his ransom ; it was sworn by tenants for life, 
while Homage was restricted to those who could bequeath their estates. 
Investiture was the placing in possession of an estate, either actually 
or symbolically, as by delivering a stone, turf, or branch. 

The Castle has been called the symbol of feudalism. A strong, 
stone fortress, crowning some high, jagged cliff or beetling promontory, 
enclosed by massive, parapeted walls, girdled by moats and bristling 
with towers, it may well be likened to a haughty feudal lord. Bold 
and stout-hearted must have been the foe that ventured its assault. 

* Compare with the policy of Cleisthenes, Anc. Peo., p. 124.— The distinction 
between feudal obligations in these two countries may be illustrated thus : Let A be 
the sovereign, B the tenant-in-chief, and C the under-tenant. In France, if B warred 
with A, C was bound to aid, not A, but B ; while in England, C was required to aid 
A against B. 



104 



MEDIAEVAL PEOPLES. 



There were sometimes, as at Montlheri in France, five enclosures 
to pass before the donjon keep was reached. Over this great tower 
floated the banner of its lord, and within its stone-walls, often ten feet 
thick, were stored his choicest treasures. Its entrance door, set high 
up in the wall, was guarded by a solid, narrow, outer stair- case, a 
drawbridge, and a portcullis; its near approach was protected by 
mounted battlements and a machicolated parapet. Intrenched in one 
of these grim strongholds a baron could, and often did, defy the king 




A MEDI/EVAL CASTLE. 



himself. The Crusades broke the strength of early Feudalism and 
created 

Chivalry, which, as an institution, attained its height in the 14th 
century. In it were combined the old Germanic pride in prowess and re- 
spect for woman ; the recent religious fervor ; a growing love for splen- 
dor, poetry, and music ; an exclusive, aristocratic spirit ; and a hitherto 
disregarded sentiment of duty toward the weak and the oppressed. Its 
chief exponent was 

The Knight^ who, at his best, was the embodiment of valor, 
honor, gallantry, and munificence. Brave, truthful and generous in 
character ; high-bred and courteous in manner ; strong, athletic, and 



MEDIiEVAL CIVILIZATIOK. 



105 



graceful in person ; now glitterini^ in polished steel and fiercely batter- 
ing the walls of Jerusalem ; now clad in silken jupon and tilting with 
ribboned lance at the gorgeous tournament; always associated with 
the sound of martial music, the jingle of armor and the clasliiiig of 
swords, or with the rustle of quaintly-robed ladies in castle halls— the 
ideal chevalier rides through tlie middle ages, the central hero of all 
its romance. We see him first, a lad of seven years, joining a group 
of high-born pages and damsels who cluster about a fair lady in a 
stately castle. Here he studies music, chess, and knightly courtesies, 
and commits to memory his Latin Code of Manners. He carries his 
lady's messages, sends and re- 
calls her falcon in the chase, 
and imitates the gallantry he 
sees about him. When a pil- 
grim-harper with fresh tidings 
from the Holy Land knocks at 
the castle gate, and sits down 
by the blazing fire in the great 
pillared hall, hung with ar- 
mor, banners, and emblazoned 
standards, or is summoned to 
a cushion on the floor of my 
lady's chamber, the little page's 
heart swells with emulous de- 
sire as he hears of the marvel- 
lous exploits of the Knights of 
the Holy Grail, or listens to the 
stirring Song of Roland. At 
fourteen he is made squire, and 
assigned to some office about 
the castle — the most menial 
duty being an honor in the 
knightly apprenticeship. His physical, moral, and military education 
becomes more rigid. Seated on his horse, he learns to manage arms, 
scale walls, and leap ditches. He leads the war-steed of his lord to 
battle or the tournament, and " rivets with a sigh the armor he is for- 
bidden to wear." At twenty-one his probation is ended. Fasting, 
ablution, confession, communion, and a night in prayer at the altar, 
precede the final ceremony. He takes the vow to defend the faith, to 
protect the weak, to honor womankind ; his belt is slung around him ; 
his golden spurs are buckled on ; he kneels ; receives the accolade,* 




COSTUME (fourteenth AND FIFTEENTH 
CENTURIES.) 



* This was a blow on the neck of the candidate with the flat of a sword, given by 
the conferring prince, who, at the same time, pronounced the words : '' I dub thee 
knight, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 



106 MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 

and rises a chevalier. His horse is led to the church door, and, amid 
the shouts of the crowd and the peal of trumpets, he rides away into 
the wide world to seek the glory he hopes to win. — Not many knights, 
it is true, were like Godfrey and Bayard. The very virtues of chivalry 
often degenerated into vices ; hut any approach to courtesy in this vio- 
lent age was a great advance upon its general lawlessness.* 

The Tournament was to the mediaeval knight what puhlic games 
had heen to the Greek and the gladiatorial contest to the Roman. 
Every device was used to produce a gorgeous spectacle. The painted 
and gilded lists were hung with tapestries, and were overlooked by 
towers and galleries, decorated with hangings, pennants, shields, and 
banners. Here, dressed in their richest robes, were gathered kings, 
queens, princes, knights, and ladies. Kings-at-arms, heralds, and pour- 
suivants-at-arms — the reporters of the occasion — stood within or just 
without the arena ; musicians were posted in separate stands ; and 
valets and sergeants were stationed everywhere, to keep order, to pick 
up and replace broken weapons, and to raise unhojsed knights. At the 
sound of the clarions the competing chevaliers, arrayed in full armor 
and seated on magnificently-caparisoned horses, with great plumes 
nodding above their helmets and ladies' ribbons floating from their 
lances, rode slowly and solemnly into the lists, followed by their several 
esquires, all gaily dressed and mounted. Sometimes the combatants 
were preceded by their chosen ladies, who led them in by gold or silver 
chains. When all was ready the heralds cried, ** Laissez-les oiler" (let 
them go), the trumpets pealed, and from the opposite ends of the arena 
the knights dashed at full speed to meet with a clash in the center. 
Shouts of cheer from the heralds, loud flourishes from the musicians, 
and bursts of applause from thousands of lookers-on, rewarded every 
brilliant feat of arms or horsemanship. And when the conquering 
knight bent to receive the pTize from the hand of some fair lady, the 
whole air trembled with the cries of "honor to the brave," and "glory 
to the victor." But tournaments were not all joyous play. Almost 
always, some were carried dead or dying from the lists, and in a single 
German tourney sixty knights were killed. 

Arms, Armor, and Military Engines.— ifa*7 armor was 
composed of metal rings sewed upon cloth or linked together in the 
shape of garments. Afterward, metal plates and caps were intermixed 

* The knight who had been accused and convicted of cowardice and falsehood, 
incurred a fearful degradation. Placed astride a beam, on a public scaffold, under 
the eyes of assembled knights and ladies, he was stripped of his armor, which was 
broken to pieces before his eyes and thrown at his feet. His spurs were cast into the 
filth, his shield was fastened to the croup of a cart-horse and dragged in the dust, 
and his charger's tail was cut oflf. He was then carried on a litter to the church, the 
burial service was read over him, and he was published to the world as a dead coward 
and traitor. 



MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION. lOH 

with it, and in the 15th century a complete suit of plate armor was 
worn. This consisted of several pieces of highly-tempered and polished 
steel, so fitted, jointed and overlapped as to protect the whole body. 
It was fastened on to the kniglit with hammer aud pincers, so he could 
neither get in nor out of it alone, and it was so cumbrous and unwieldy 
that, once down, he could not rise again. Thus he was " a castle of 
steel on his war-horse, a helpless log when overthrown." Boiled 
leather was sometimes used in place of metal. Common soldiers wore 
leather or quilted jackets, and an iron scull-cap. 

27ie long-hoio was to the middle ages what the nQ.e is to our day. 
The English excelled in its use, and their enemies sometimes left their 
walls unmanned because, as was said, " no one could peep but he would 
have an arrow in his eye before he could shut it." The Genoese were 
famous cross-bow men. The bolts of brass and iron sent from their huge 
cross-bows would pass through the head-piece of a man-at-arms and 
pierce his brain. Many of the military arts and defences used from the 
earliest times were still in vogue, and so remained until gunpowder 
was invented. Indeed, a mediaeval picture of a siege does not strikingly 
differ from Ninevite sculptures or Theban paintings, either in the nature 
of its war-engines or in the perspective art of the drawing itself. 

Education and Literature. — During the 11th and 12th cen- 
turies, schools and seminaries of learning were multiplied and began to 
expand into universities, that of Paris, the " City of Letters," taking 
the lead. Now, also, arose the Scholastic Philosophy, which applied the 
logic of Aristotle to intricate problems in theology. The Schoolmen 
began with Peter Lombard (d. 1160), a professor in the University of 
Paris, where he had studied under the brilliant Abelard — an eloquent 
lecturer, now remembered chiefly as the lover of Heloise. Lombard 
has been styled the " Euclid of Scholasticism." Another noted school- 
man was Albertus Magnus, a German of immense learning, whose 
scientific researches brought upon him the reputation of a sorcerer. The 
doctrines of Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican Monk, and of Duns Scotus, 
a Franciscan, divided the schools, and the reasonings and counter- 
reasonings of Thomists and Scotists filled countless pages with logical 
subtleties. The vast tomes of Scholastic theology left by the 13th cen- 
tury schoolmen " amaze and appal the mind with the enormous accu- 
mulation of intellectual industry, ingenuity, and toil, of which the sole 
result to posterity is this barren amazement." Roger Bacon was at this 
time startling the age by his wonderful discoveries in science. Ac- 
cused, like Albert the Great, of dealing with magic, he paid the pen- 
alty of his advanced views by ten years in prison. 

While in monastery and university the schoolmen racked their brains 
with subtle and profound distinctions, the gay French Troubadours^ 
equipped with their ribboned guitars, were flitting from castle to castle. 



16^ 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLlSS 



where the gates were always open to them and their flattering rhymes. 

The Tfoumres supplied the age with allegories, comic tales, and long 

romances, while the German Minnesanger (love-singers) numbered 

kings and princes among their poets. 

In Scandinavia, the mythological poems 
or sagas of the 8th — 10th centuries were 
collected into what is called the older Edda 
(11th or 12th cent.) ; and afterward ap- 
peared the younger Edda — whose legends 
linked the Norse race with the Trojan 
heroes (Anc. Peo., p. 115). The German 
Nibelimgenlied (12th cent.) was a collection 
of the same ancestral legends woven into 
a grand epic by an unknown poet. 

To the 13th and 14th centuries, respec- 
tively, belong the great poets Dante and 
Chaucer. About this time a strong desire 
for learning was felt among the common 
people, it being for them the only road to 
distinction. The children of burghers and 
artisans, whose education began in the 
little public school attached to the parish- 
church, rose to be lawyers, priests, and 
statesmen. The nobility, generally, cared 
little for scholarship. A gentleman could 
always employ a secretary, and the glory 
won in a crusade or a successful tilt in a 
tournament was worth more to a mediaeval 
knight than the book lore of ages. Every 
monastery had a "writing-room," where 
the younger monks were em]3loyed in tran- 
scribing manuscripts. After awhile, copy- 
ing became a trade, the average price being 
about four cents a leaf for prose, and two 
for verse — the page containing thirty lines. 
Adding price of paper, a book of prose cost 
not far from fifty cents a leaf. 

Arts and Architecture.— As leam- 



STYLUS.* 
(Thirteentli & Four 
teenth Centuries.) 



* The style, or stylus, was the chief instrument of writing during the Middle Ages, 
With the pointed end the letters were cut on the waxen tablet, while the rounded 
head was used in making erasures. If the writing was to be preserved, it was after- 
ward copied by a scribe on parchment or vellum, with a rude reed pen, which was 
dipped in a colored liquid. The style was sometimes made of bone or ivory, some- 
times of glass or iron, while those used by persons of rank were made of gold or 
silver, and were often ornamented with curious figures. 



MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION. 109 

ing was confined mostly to the church, art naturally found its chief 
expression in cathedral building. Toward the close of the 12tli cen- 
tury, the round arched, Romanesque style gave place to the pointed- 
arched, spired, and buttressed edifice. The use of painted glass for 
-windows crowned the glory of the Gothic cathedral."- Religious ideas 
■were expressed in designs and carvings. Thus the great size and lofti- 
ness of the interior symbolized the Divine Majesty ; the high and 
pointed towers represented faith and hope ; and, as the rose was made 
to signify human life, everywhere on windows, doors, arches, and 
columns, the cross sprang out of a rose. So, too, the altar was placed 
at the East, whence the Saviour came, and was raised three steps, to 
indicate the Trinity. These mighty structures were the work often of 



•n 



FAC-SIMILE OF FRENCH WRITING OF THE 15TH CENTURY. 

centuries. The Cologne Cathedral was begun in 1248 ; its chancel was 
finished in 1320 ; but the lofty spire was not completed till our own 
day. 

The Guilds and Corporations of the Middle Ages were a great 
power, rivalling the influence of the nobles and frequently controlling 
the municipal government. 

Manners and Customs.— £Jxtravagance in dress, equipage, and 
table marked all high life. Only the finest cloths, linens, silks and 
velvets, adorned with gold, pearls, and embroidery, satisfied the tastes 
of the nobility." f In the midst of the Hundred- Years War England 

* The Italians relied more on brilliant frescoes and Mosaics for interior effect ; 
tlie Frencli and English cathedrals excelled in painted glass. " Nothing which pre- 
ceded this invention," says Fergtisson, " can compare with the parti-colored glories 
of the windows of a perfect Gothic Cathedral, where the whole history of the Bible 
is written in the hues of the rainbow by the earnest hand of faith ! " 

t Men took the lead in fashion, and indulged in the most grotesque absurdities. 
At one time peaked shoes were in vogue, the points, two feet long, being shaped like 
a scorpion's tail or twisted like a corkscrew ; at another time the toes became so 
broad that the law finally limited the width to six inches. A fop of the 14th century 
is thus described by an old writer: "He wore long -pointed shoes, fastened to his 
knees by gold and silver chains ; hose of one color on one leg and of another on the 
Other ; short breeches which did not reach to the knee ; a cpat ojie-half white, the 



no 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES, 



and France carried on a rivalry of splendor and expense. Delicacies 
from Constantinople, Palestine, Phoenicia, Alexandria, and Babylon, 
were served at royal entertainments. The tables blazed with gold and 

silver plate, yet had not the 

refinement of a fork, and 

fingers were thrust into the 

rich dishes or tore the greasy 

meats into bits. A knight 

and his lady often ate from 

the same plate, and soaked 

their crusts of bread in the 

same cup of soup. Men and 

women sat at table with their 

hats on, although it was the 

height of bad manners to 

keep on gloves during a visit, 

and a personal insult to take 

the hand of a friend in the 

street without first unglov- 

iug. Great households were 

kept up, and kings enter- 
tained as many as 10,000 per- 
sons daily at the royal board. 

The lower orders aped the 
higher, and Sumptuary Laws were made to protect the privileges of the 
nobility, not only in dress but also in food. 





MALE COSTUME. 

(Eleventh and Twelfth Cen- 
turies.) 



FEMALE COSTUME. 



(Eleventh and Twelfth Cen- 
turies.) 




A MOVABLE IRON CAGE. 
(Fifteenth Century.) 

other blue or black ; a long beard ; a silk hood buttoned under his chin, embroidered 
with quaint figures of animals and ornamented with gold, silver, and precious stones," 



READING REFERENCES. Ill 

Punishments were barbarous and severe. The gallows and the 
rack were ever at work. Chopping off of hands, putting out of eyes, 
and cutting off of ears, were common affairs. The most ingenious tor- 
tures were devised, and hanging was the mildest death allowed to 
criminals. 

Summary (see p. 9). — The Vth and Vlth centuries were charac- 
terized by the settlements of the Teutons in Roman territory. The 
Vllth century was marked by the rise of Mohammed and the spread 
of the Saracen empire. The Vlllth century saw the growth of the 
Frankish power, culminating in the empire of Charlemagne. The 
IXth century witnessed the welding of the Saxon sovereignties into 
England ; the breaking up of Charlemagne's empire into France, Ger- 
many, and Italy ; and the founding of Russia by the Normans. The 
Xth century brought RoUo into Normandy and Capet into his kingdom. 
The Xlth century was made memorable by the Norman Conquest of 
England ; the overthrow of the Greek-Saracen rule in Southern Italy ; 
and the War of the Investiture in Germany. The Xllth century saw 
the Crusades at their height, and the Italian republics in their glory. 
The Xlllth century was marked by feeble Crusades, and the granting 
of Magna Charta in England. The XlVth century witnessed the 100- 
Years War. The XVth century is memorable for the deliverance of 
France ; the Wars of the Roses ; the Conquest of Granada, with the 
rise of Spain ; the fall of Constantinople, and the discovery of America. 

READING REFERENCES. 

General History.— 5a?to7wV Middle Ages.—Putz and Arnold's Mediceval His- 
tory.— Schmitz's Middle Ages.— Freeman's General Sketch of European History.— 
Finlay^s History of the Byzantine Empire.— Milman''s History of Latin Christianity. — 
Draper's Intellectual Development of Europe.— Creasy^ s Fifteen Decisive Battles.— 
Guizofs History of Civilization.— Menzies''s History of Middle Ages.— The Beginning 
of the Middle Ages (Epochs of History Series).— Duruy's Histoire du Moyen Age.— 
Freeman's Historical. Geography of Europe {invaluable in tracing obscure geograph- 
ical changes).— Robertson's Charles V. {Introduction on Middle Ages).— Sullivan's His- 
torical Causes and Effects.— Dunham'' s Middle Ages. — Adams's Manual of Historical 
Literature {an excellent bibliographical guide).— Lacroix' s Manners and Customs^ 
Science and Literature, and Military and Religious Life., of the Middle Ages.— 
Maclear's Apostles of Mediceval Europe.— Wright's Homes of the Middle Ages, and 
WomanJcind in Western Europe.— Kingsley's Roman and Teutm,.— Baring -Gould'' s 
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages.— Cox and Jones's Romances of the Middle Ages.— 
OliphanVs Francis of Assist.- George Eliot's Romola. 

The Ceusades and Chtv alrt.— Coa;'^ Crusades.— Mlchaud^s History of the Cru- 
sades. —Mackay's Popular Delusions, art. The Crusades.— Addison's History of the 
Knights Templar.— Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered {poetry).— Chronicles of the Crusades 
{Bohn's Library).— Bell s Studies of Feudalism.— Chronicles of Froissart {unrivalled 
pictures of chivalry).— Scott" s Ivanhoe, Talisman, and Anne of Geierstein.—Buljinch's 
Age of Chivalry. 

England.— SwmeV, KnighVs, Green's, Lingard's, Creasy's, Keightley's, Collier's, 
(fnd Gardiner's Histories 0/ England.— Pec(,rson,'s History ofEnglancl, Early an^ Mi^- 



112 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES. 



die Ages.— Freeman's History of the Norman Conquest.— I'hompson's History of Eng- 
land {Freeman's Historical Course).— Thierry's History of the Norman Conquest.— 
Palgrave's Normandy and England.— Cobb's History of the Norman kings of Eng- 
land. —Green's Making of England. —Freeman's Old English History.— The Norman 
Kings and Feudal System; the Early Plantagenets ; Edward III. ; Houses of Lancas- 
ter and Yo7'k {Epochs of History Series).— Sjnith's History of English Institutions 
{Historical Hand-book Series). — Burton's History of Scotland {the standard authority). 
—Strickland's Pives of the Queens of England.— Green's Lives of the Princesses of 
England.— St. John's Four Conquests of England.— Shakspere's Xing John (Ar- 
thw) ; also Henry IV.., F., VI, and Richard III—Bulwer's Last of the Barons.— 
Kingsley's Hereward, the Last of the Saxons.— The " Babee's Book." 

FnAiiCTi.— Godwin's {Vol. I), White's, Smith's, Sismondi's, Michelet's, Bonne- 
chose's, Markham's, Crowe's, Kitchin's, Tonge's, and Edwards's Histories of France. 
—Barnes's Brief History of France.— Thierry's History of the Gauls. — Guizot's Pop- 
ular History of France.— Martin' s Histoire de France. — Duruy's Histoire de France. — 
Byron's Childe Harold {Moral).— James's Philip Augustus, Mary of Burgundy, and 
Jacquerie { fiction). —Southey's Joan of Arc {poetry).— Harriet Parr's Joan of Arc- 
Scott's Queniin Burward {fiction).— Jamison' s Bertrand du Guesclin^— Kirk's Life 
of Charles the Bold.— Memoirs of Philippe de Cornines.—Bulwer Lytton's translation 
ofthePoemofBou{Rollo). — Bulflnch's Legends of Charlemagne.— James's Life of 
Charlemagne.— Scott's Marmion, Canto 6, Stanza S3 {Poland). 

Germany.— Taylor's, Lewis's, Menzel's, and Kohlrausch" s Histories of Germany. — 
Bryce's Holy Roman Empire. — Sime's History of Germany {Freeman's Course). — 
Coxe's House of Austria.— Raumer's History of the Hohenstauf en.— Kington' s Life of 
Frederick Il.—Peake's History of the German Emperors.— Abbott's Empire of Aus- 
tria.— Schiller's Drama of William Tell— Scott's Ballad of the Battle of Sempach. 

Spain, Italy, Tuekey, 'Etc.— Hunt's Italy {Freeman's Course).— Irving' s Ma- 
homet and his Successors, an-d Conquest of Granada.— Sismondi' s History of Italian 
Republics.— Campbell's Life of Petrarch.— Longfellow's Dante.— Roscoe's Life of 
Lorenzo de' Medici.— Prescott's History of Ferdinand and Isabella.— VillarVs Life of 
Savonarola.— Grimm's Life of Michael Angela.- Ockley's History of the Saracens.— 
Symonds's Renaissance in Italy.— Taine's Art in Italy.— Creasy' s History of the Otto- 
man Turks.— Freeman's History and Conquests of the Saracens.— Lytton's Siege of 
Granada {fiction). 



CHRONOLOGY 



FIFTH CENTURY (Concluded). 
(See Anc. Peo., p. 312.) 

A. D. 

Attila defeated in battle of CMlons. 451 

Clovis wins battle of Soissons 486 

Theodoric with the Ostrogoths con- 
quers Italy 489-493 

Clovis becomes a Christian 496 

SIXTH CENTURY. 

Paris, Clovis's capital 510 

Arthur in Britain (conjectured) 515 

Time of Justinian 527-65 

Belisarius in Africa, 533 ; in Italy. .536-9 
Silk Manufacture brought to Europe 551 
End of Ostrogoth Kingdom in Italy. 553 
Lombards conquer ltQ\j , , 568 



A. B. 

Birth of Mohammed 570 

St. Augustine introduces Christian- 
ity into Britain 596 

SEVENTH CENTURY. 

The Hegira 622 

Mohammed's Death 632 

Omar captures Jerusalem 637 

Sixth General Council, at Constan- 
tinople 680 

EIGHTH CENTURY. 

Saracens invade Spain 711 

Martel overthrov^'^s Saracens at 
Tours.,,..,,..,, ,,..,,...., 733 



CHRONOLOGY. 



113 



A. D. 

Pepin the Short becomes king.— 

Carloviiigian Dynasty founded. .. 752 

Gift of Exarchate to Pope 754 

Emirate of Cordova founded 755 

Charlen;agne becomes sole king of 

the Franks 771 

Battle of Roucesvalles 778 

Haroun al Raschid caliph 78G 

Seventh General Cooucil, at Nice.. 787 

Danes first land in Britain, about ... 789 

Charlemagne crowned at Rome 800 

NINTH CENTURY. 

Death of Charlemagne 814 

Egbert, first king of England 827 

Battle of Fontenay 841 

Treaty of Verdun 843 

Russia founded by Ruric 862 

Alfred king of England 871-901 

TENTH CENTURY. 

Alfred's Death. 901 

RoUo the Norseman founds Nor- 
mandy 911 

Otto the Great, Emperor of Ger- 
many 936-73 

Hugh Capet crowned ; founds Cape- 
tian Dynasty 987 

ELEVENTH CENTURY. 

Canute (Knut) king of England. . . 1017-35 

Normans conquer South Italy 1040 

Edward the Confessor restores Sax- 
on Line in England 1042 

Guelf and Ghibelliue Feud begins. . 1061 

Normans conquer England 1066 

Turks capture Jerusalem 1076 

First Crusade 1096 

TWELFTH CENTURY. 

Guiscard of Normandy, king of 

Naples 1102 

Knights Templar founded 1118 

Second Crusade 1147 

Plantagenet Line founded 1154 

Henry II. invades Ireland 1171 

Third Crusade 1189 

THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 

Fourth Crusade 1202 

War against Aibigenses 1208 



A. D. 

Battle of Rnnnymede.— John grants 

Magna Charta 1215 

Fifth Crusade 1218 

Sixth Crusade 1228 

Genghis Khan.— Gregory IX. estab- 
lishes Inquisition 1233 

Seventh Crusade 1249 

Monguls sack Bagdad 1258 

Eighth Crusade 1270 

Hapsburg Line founded 1273 

Teutonic Order conquers Prussia. . . 1281 

Edward I. conquers Wales 1283 

Turks capture Acre.— End of Cru- 
sades 1291 

Edward conquers Scotland 1296 

FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 

Pope removes to Avignon ... 1305 

Wallace executed 1805 

Battle of Bannockburn 1314 

Battle of Morgarten 1315 

Hundred- Years War 1328-1453 

Battle of Crecy 1-346 

Calais surrendered 1347 

Rienzi, tribune of Rome 1347 

Battle of Poitiers 1356 

Pope returns to Rome 1377 

Wat Tyler's Insurrection 1381 

Battle of Sempach 1386 

FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 

John HuPS burned 1415 

Battle of Azincourt 1415 

Jeanne Dare at Orleans 1428 

Charles VII. crowned at Rheiras. . . 1429 

Jeanne Dare burned 1431 

Capture of Constantinople 1453 

Wars of the Roses 1455-.85 

Gutenberg prints the first book. ..- . . 1456 
Battles of Granson, Morat, and Nan- 
cy (Death of Charles the Bold). . .1476-7 

Lorenzo de' Medici at Florence 1478 

Union of Castile and Aragon under 

Ferdinand and Isabella 1479 

Battle of Bosworth.— Tudor Line 

founded 1485 

Fall of Granada 1492 

Columbus discovers America 1492 

Charles VIII. invades Italy 1494 

Vasco da Gama doubles Cape of 

Good Hope 1497 

Savonarola burned 1498 



114 



MEDIEVAL PEOPLES, 



CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 



ENGLAND. 

William 1 1066 

William II 1087 



Henry I HOC 

Stephen 1135 

Henry II 1154 

Richard 1 1189 

John , 1199 



Henry III. 



1216 



Edward 1 1272 



Edward II 

Edward III 

Eichard II 

Henry IV 


1307 

1327 

1377 




Henry V 

Henry VI 

Edward IV 

Edward V 

Eichard III 

Henry VII 


.... 1413 
.... 1422 
.... 1461 
.... 1483 
.... 1483 
... 1485 



FRANCE. 





Louis VI 

Louis VII 

Philip II 


.... 1108 
.... 1137 

.... 1180 


Louis VIII 

Louis IX 

Philip III 


.... 1223 
.... 1226 

.... 1270 


Philip IV 


.... 1285 


Louis X 

Philip V 

Charles IV 

Philip VI 


.. . 1314 
.,.. 1316 
.... 1322 

.... 1328 
1350 


Charles V 

Charles VI 


.... 1364 
.... 1380 


Charles VII 

Louis XI 

Charles VIIL ... 

Louis XII 


.... 1422 

.... 1461 
.... 1483 

.... 1498 



GERMANY. 
Henry IV 1056 



Henry V 1106 

Lothaire II 1125 

Conrad III 1138 

Frederick Barbarossa 1152 

Henry VI 1190 

Philip 1197 

Otto IV 1209 

Frederick II 1215 

Conrad IV 1250 

Rudolf 1273 

Adolphus 1292 

Albert 1 1298 



Benry VII 1308 

Lewis IV 1314 

Frederick the Fair. . . 1314 

Charles IV 1347 

Wenceslaus 1378 



Rupert 1400 

Si.^ismund 1410 

Albert II 1438 

Frederick III 1440 

Maximilian 1 1493 




GOLD FLORIN, LOUIS IX. 



Modern Peoples, 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. 



Introduction, 



The 16th 
Century 



The French in Italy. 



2. The Age of Chakles V. 

3. The Eise of the Dutch Ee- 

PUBLIC. 



ri. 



The French 
Wars. 



Civil-Eeltgious 



Charles VHI. 

Louis XII. 

Fianci? I. 

Tne Eivalry of Charles and 
Francis. 

The Eeformation. 

The Netherlands. 
J 2. The Eeforreation. 
! 3. The Dnke olAlva. 
I 4. The Forty-Years War. 
' 1. The Reformation in France. 

2. Francis II. 

3. Charles IX. 

4. Henry III. 



5. England under the Tudors. 



4 3. 



m 
H 

o 

H 
P 
O 



The 17th 
Century. 



1. The Thirty- Years War. 



-! 2. 



Henry IV. 

Henry VII. 

Henry VIII. 

Edward VI. 

Mary. 

Elizabeth. 

Causes. 

Opening of the War. 

Imperial Triumph. 

f a. Tilly. 



4. Giistavus 
Adolphus. 



j c. 



The Absolute Monarchy in 
France. 



England under the Stuarts 
Period of the Civil War. 



\k 



The 18th 
Centurv. 



I b. Leipnc. 
c. Wallenstein. 
Liitzen. 
Death of 
Oustavus. 
Remainder of War. 
Peace of Westphalia. 
Age of Richelieu. 
Age of Louis XIV. 

1. James I. 

2. Charles I. 

3. The Civil War. 

4. The Commonwealth. 

5. The Restoration, Charles II. 

6. James II. 

7. Revolution of 1688. William 
and Mary. 

8. Anne. 
Peter the Great and Charles' XII. 

Rise of Prussia: Age of Frederick the Great. 



• -! 



England under the House of 
Hanover. 



[ 4. The French Revolution. 



1. France. 



The 19th 
Century. 



England. 

Germany. 

Italy. 

Turkey. 

Grbece. 

The Netherlands. 

Japan. 



1. George I. 

2. George II. v 

3. George III. 

4. See 19th Century. 

1. Louis XV. 

2. Louis XVI. 

f a. Abolition of 

3. French ( Monarchy. 

Rev- ! b. R'gn of Terror. 
olu- } 0. Directory. 
tion. d. Consulate. 
t e. Empire. 
—(See Analysis of 18th Cent.) 

1. The Restoration. 

2. The Second Republic. 

3. The Second Empire. 

4. The Third Republic. 

[The subdivisions of these 
general topics may be filled in 
tVom the titles of the para- 
graphs in the text, as the stu- 
dent proceeds.] 



MODERN PEOPLES. 



• - ^.-fci-^*£is>i 




GLOBE ILLUSTRATING THE GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th 
century formed the springtime of a new era. It was an 
epoch of important events: In 1491, Charles VIII. married 
Anne of Brittany, which united to the French crown the last 
of the great feudal provinces ; in 1492, Granada fell into the 
hands of Ferdinand and Isabella, a conquest which established 
the Spanish monarchy ; in the same year, Columbus discoV' 



Il8 MODERN 1»E0PLES. [15th CENT. 

ered America, which began a great commercial reyolution ; 
in 1494, the Italian Wars commenced, and with them the 
battles and rivalries of the chief European nations ; in 1508, 
Eaphael and Michael Angelo were painting in the Vatican at 
Eome, which marked a revolution in art ; in 1517, Luther 
posted his 95 theses on the Wittenberg cathedral door, and 
so inaugurated the Reformation; in 1521, Magellan circum- 
navigated the globe, thus giving correct geographical ideas ; 
finally, about 1530, Copernicus finished his theory of the solar 
system, which was the beginning of a new epoch in science. 

The causes of this wonderful change were numerous. 
The Crusades kindled a spirit of trade, adventure, and con- 
quest. Travel at the East enlarged the general knowledge 
of the earth. The use of the mariner's compass emboldened 
sailors to undertake long voyages. Large cities had risen to 
be centers of freedom, commerce, manufactures, and wealth. 
The Eevival of Learning in Italy stirred men's thoughts in 
every land. The fall of Constantinople scattered the treas- 
ures of Greek literature over the West; learned men, driven 
from the East, settled in Europe ; the philosophy and arts of 
Athens and Eome were studied with zest ; each nation felt, 
in turn, the impulse of the Renaissance in art; and ^ succes- 
sion of painters, sculptors, poets, and historians arose such as 
Christendom had never seen. There were now nearly forty 
universities in Europe, and students traveling to and fro 
among them distributed the new ideas, which gradually 
trickled down into the minds of the masses. Above all else, 
two inventions revolutionized Europe. 

Gunpowder "^ pierced the heaviest armor, and shattered the 



* Gunpowder seems to have been known to the Chinese at an early day, though 
Roger Bacon, an English monk of the 13th century, is called its inventor. Its appli- 
cation to war is ascribed to a German named Schwartz (1330), but, long before that, 
the Moors used artillery in the defence of Cordova. The English at Crecy had three 
email cannon. The French under Louis XI. invented trunmons, a light carriage, and 



15tii cent.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



119 



strongest wall. Tlie foot-soldier with his musket could put 
to Hight the knight-errant with his lance. Standing armies 
of infantry and artillery took the place of the feudal levy. 
This chano^ed the whole art of war. The kins: was now 



stronger than the noble. 




THE INVENTION OF PRINTING 



Printing by means of movable types was invented by 
Gu'tenberg of Mentz, who issued -in 1456 a Latin Bible. 
Books, which had hitherto been laboriously copied on parch- 
ment/were now rapidly multiplied, and the cost was greatly 
reduced. Cheaper books made new readers. Knowledge 
became more widely diffused. 

The political condition of Europe was that of great 

cast-iron shot, thus equipping a weapon serviceable in the field. Charles VIII. owed 
his rapid conquest of Italy to his park of light artillery that was in striking contrast 
to the cumbersome Italian bombards dragged about with great ditficulty by oxen and 
firing stone balls. 



120 MODEBN PEOPLES. [15tH CENT. 

monarchies, each ready to turn its forces against the others. 
The so-called "States-System" now arose. Its object was 
the preservation of the Balance of Power, i. e., the preventing 
any state from getting a superiority over the rest. Thence 
came alliances and counter-alliances among the different 
nations, and various schemes of diplomacy that often bewil- 
der the student of modern history. 

Maritime Discoveries. — Up to this time, the known 
world comprised only Europe, southwestern Asia, and a 
strip of northern Africa. The rich products of the East 
were still brought to the West by way of Alexandria and 
Venice. Cape Non, on the coast of Africa, by its very name 
declared the belief that there was notlimg attainable beyond. 
The sea at the equator was thought to be boiling hot, and 
the maps represented the Occident as bristling with monsters. 

The Portuguese sailors, under the auspices of Prince 
John, and King John IT., ventured each voyage further 
southward, crossed the dreaded equator, and, sailing under 
the brighter stars of a new hemisphere, step by step explored 
the African coast, until finally Diaz (1487) doubled the con- 
tinent. The southern point he well named the Cape of 
Storms; but King John, seeing now a way to reach India 
by sea, rechristened it the Cape of G-ood Hope. Eleven years 
later, Vasco da Gama realized this sanguine expectation. He 
rounded the cape, sailed across the Indian Ocean, landed on 
the Malabar coast, and returned home with a cargo of Indian 
products. The old routes across the Mediterranean, through 
Egypt and the Levant, were now nearly abandoned. The 
Portuguese soon made a settlement on the Malabar coast. 
Their commercial establishments, shipping by sea directly 
to Europe, quickly gathered up the Eastern trade. Lisbon, 
instead of Venice, became the great depot of Indian pro- 
ducts. 



O^EEAT VOYAGES OF DISCOVERT SINCE THE 15th < 



Spain I I 



Portugal 1 



MarMam 8^20" 
Grinnell ^^::^vasTimgtoiiXana 



^ PARHY IS. f 



-:o SPITZBEF 

I S Barents 




TIRY AND PRIXCTPAL COLONIAL POSSESSIONS. 




gjiVJ^T VOYv^r.KS OF DISCOVERT SINCE THE 15th C ENTURY and PRINCIPAL COLONIAI. POSSESSIONS. 






MarMam S3 



""<?^ife "^ 



o SPITZBEI 

S Xarcnl 

""3 , 






I/& c 















illillrao-' 









O C!-.... JS ^ JV- 
'■-., Vkerguelen 1. 



:\ ,7....... 



■■:. ^ 



'''^t.. 



i^ 



1498.] 



I N T K D U C T I K . 



121 



Columhus, meanwhile, in- 



P 



itlaO'is 




A SHIP OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
(From a drawing attributed to Columbus.) 



spired by the same hope of ^rimtttrd 

finding a sea-route to India, 
and believing tlie earth to be 
round, sailed westward. He 
reached, not India, as he sup- 
posed, but a new world. On 
his third voyage, the very 
year that Da Gama solved the 
problem, Columbus first saw 
the coast of South America. 

Adventurers of many na- 
tions eagerly flocked through 
the door Columbus had 
thrown open. The names 
of Vespucci, Balboa, Cartier, 

Ponce De Leon, and De Soto are familiar to every student of 
American history. The Cabots, sainng under the English 
flag, explored the coast of the new world from Labrador to 
Chesapeake Bay. Cabral, a Portuguese navigator, in 1500, 
took possession of Brazil in the name of his king. Finally, 
Magellan passed through the strait still known by his name, 
and crossed the Pacific to the Philippine Islands; there he 
was killed by the savage natives, but one of his ships, con- 
tinuing the voyage, circumnavigated the globe (1521). 

Me:sico, when discovered by the Spaniards, had reached, 
under the Montezumas — its Aztec rulers, a considerable 
degree of civilization. Its laws were written in hiero- 
glyphics ; its judges were chosen for life ; its army was fur- 
nished with music, hospitals, and surgeons ; its calendar 
was more accurate than the Spanish ; its people were skilled 
in agriculture and the arts; and its capital, Mexico, was sup- 
plied with aqueducts, and adorned with palaces aTid temples. 



122 MODEKiSr I>EOPL£S. [1519-'2l. 

The Aztecs, however, were idolaters and cannibals ; and their 
civilization was ignorant of horse, ox, plough, printing, and 
gunpowder. 

Cortes, with a little army of 600 Spaniards, fearlessly 
invaded this powerful empire. His cannon and cavalry car- 
ried terror to the simple-minded natives. A war of three 
years, crowded with romance as with cruelty, completed the 
conquest. Mexico remained a province of Spain until 1821. 

Peru, under the Incas, was perhaps richer and more power- 
ful than Mexico. Two great military roads extended the 
entire length of the empire, and along them the public 
couriers carried the news 200 miles per day. A vast system 
of water-works, more extensive than that of Egypt, irrigated 
the rainless regions, and agriculture had attained a high 
degree of perfection. The government was paternal, the 
land being owned by the Inca, and a portion assigned to 
each person to cultivate. Eoyal officers directed the indus- 
try of this great family in tillage, weaving, etc., and, though 
no one could rise above his station, it was the boast of the 
country that every one had work, and enjoyed the comforts 
of life. 

Pizarro, an unprincipled Spanish adventurer, overthrew 
this rich empire (1533), and imprisoned the Tnca. The 
unfortunate captive offered, for his ransom, to fill his cell 
with gold vessels, as high as he could reach ; but, after he 
had collected over 115,000,000 worth, he was strangled by 
his perfidious jailers. 

The Spanish Colonies rarely prospered. In Mexico, Cortes 
sought to rule wisely. He sent home for priests and learned men ; 
founded schools and colleges; and introduced European plants and 
animals. But, on his return to Spain, he became, like Columbus, a 
victim of ingratitude, though he had given to the Emperor Charles V. 
"more states than Charles had inherited cities." 

In general, the Spanish governors destroyed the native civilization, 



INTRODUCTION", 



123 



without introducing the European. The thirst for gold was the princi- 
pal motive that drew men to the new world. The natives were portioned 
among the conquerors, and doomed to work in the mines. It is said 
that four-fifths of the Peruvians perished in this cruel bondage. Tlie 
kind-hearted Las Casas, the apostle of the Indians, spent his life in 
vainl}' seeking to alleviate their miseries, convert them to Christianity, 
and obtain for them governmental protection. To supply the fearful 
waste of the population, negroes were brought from Africa, and so 
slavery and the slave-trade were established. . The Spaniards turned to 
agriculture only when gold-hunting ceased to pay ; and, not being a 
trading people, their colonial commerce fell chiefly into the hands of 
foreigners. For a time, however, the Spanish coffers were running 
over with American gold and silver. 

READING REFERENCES. 



Eeereri's Manual.— DTjefs History of Modern Europe.— Beer en's Historical Trea- 
tises. — Yonge's Three Centuries of Modern History .- Arnold" s Lectures on Modern 
History.— Thalheiiner's Manual of Modern History.— MicheleVs Modern History.- 
Buruy's Histoire des Temps Modernes.— Irving' s Life of Columbus. —ParTcman' s Pio- 
neers of France.— Help's Spanish Conquest of America.— PrescotVs Ferdinand and 
Isabella {Columbus).— Wallace'' s Fair Ood {fiction).— Barneses Brief Hist, of the TJ. S. 
—Barnes\- Popular Hist, of tlie U. S.—Squier's Ancient Peru, Harper's Mag., Vol. 7.— 
Abbotfs Coiiez, Harper's Mag., Vol. W.—Abbotfs Columbus, Harper'' s Mag., Vol. 38. 
-Higginson^s Spanish Discoveries, Harper''s Mag. Vol. 65.—Eggleston\^ Begimiing 
of a Nation, Century Magazine, Vol. 25.— Fitzgerald'' s Kings of Europe and their 
families {excellent for genealogy). 




utJir'-'-^^.m\\\\\^ 



TOMB OF COLUMBUS AT HAVANA. 



124 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

I. THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 

The Invasion of Italy (1494) by the French may be con- 
sidered the opening event of modern history. Its progress, 
by the many leagues that were formed, illustrates the growth 
of the new States-System. 

Charles VIII. (1483-'98), filled with "dreams of rivaling 
Alexander and Charlemagne, resolved to assert the claim of 
his house to the kingdom of Naples.* Milan, Florence, and 
Eome opened their gates to his powerful army. He entered 
Naples amid the acclamations of the populace. This bril- 
liant success turned the head of the weak king, and he gave 
himself up to feasts and tournaments. Meanwhile, the first 
extended league in modern history was formed by Milan, 
Venice, the pope, Maximilian of Germany, and Ferdinand of 
Spain, to expel the invader. Charles retreated as hastily as 
he had come, and by the victory of Fornova secured his 
escape into France. 

Louis XII. (1498-1515), inheriting the schemes of Charles 

Geographical Questions .—\^Qtt2iiQ Naples. Milan. Fornova. "Venice. Pavia. 
Marignano. Genoa. Vienna. Wittenberg. Augsburg. Smalcald. Nuremburg. 
lunspruck. Passau. Trent. Guinegate. Calais. Toul. Verdun. Kouen. Crespy. 
Passy. Ivry. Nantes. Antwerp. Leyden. Amsterdam. Harlem. Ghent. Edin- 
burgh. Fiodden. Plymouth. Point out the ten provinces of the Southern or Spanish 
Netherlands ; the seven of Northern or United Netherlands ; the limits of the Spanish 
Empire in the 16th century. 

* The dukes of An jou. a branch of the house of France (Table, p. 491, having been 
expelled from Italy, became established in the petty principality of Provence. After 
the death of Rene, who, according to Shakspere, bore 

" The style of king of Naples, 
Of both the Sicilies and Jerusalem, 
Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman," 

the province and the claim of the house fell to Louis XI. (Brief France, p. 106.) 



1494.] 



THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 



125 




yill. and also a claim to Milan, led the second expedition 
across the Alps. Milan quickly fell into liis hands. An 
arrangement was then made with Ferdinand to divide Naples 
between them ; but the conquerors quarreled over the spoil, 
and the French army, in spite of the heroism of the Chevalier 
Bayard, was beaten back from Naples by the Spanish infantry 
under the ^^ Great Captain" Gonsalvo. 



126 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTUEY. 



[1508. 



Three Leagues. — Louis next joined the League of Camlrai 
(Ferdinand, Maximilian, and Pope Julius II.) against Venice. 
Just as the fall of that reiDublic seemed at hand, jealousies 
arose among the confederates. Pope Julius suddenly turned 
the scale by forming the Holy League (Ferdinand, Maxi- 
milian, Venice, and the Swiss), which drove the French out 
of Italy. But Louis, now allied with Venice, again descended 
upon Milan. The League ofMalines (Ferdinand, Maximilian, 
Henry VIII., and Leo X. ) stayed his steps anew. Henry VIII. 
inyaded France, and at Guinegate the French cavalry fled 
so fast before him that the victory is known as the Battle 
of the Spurs. Louis^ beaten on all sides, was glad to make 
peace. 
Francis I. (1515-'47), also lured by 'the deceitful lustre 

of Italian conquest, be- 
gan his reign by pour- 
ing his troops over the 
Alps, through paths 
known only to the 
chamois-hunter. The 
Swiss mercenaries 
guarding the passes 
were taken by surprise, 
and finally beaten in 
the bloody battle of 
Marignano (1515). 
The French were in- 
toxicated with joy. 
Francis was dubbed a 
knight on the field by 
the Chevalier Bayard. Milan fell without a blow. The 
Swiss made with France a treaty known as the Perpetual 
Peace, since it lasted as long as the old French monarchy. 




FRANCIS 1. — (after TITIAN.) 



THE AGE OF CHARLES V. 127 

II. THE AGE OF CHARLES V. 
1. THE RWALRY OF CHARLES AND FRANCIS. 

Spain was now the leading power in Europe. Ferdinand 
ruled Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Naples, and vast regions in 
the New World — the gift of Columbus to the Castilian 
crown ; while his daughter Joanna was married, to Philip, 
son of Maximilian of Austria and of Mary, daughter of 
Charles the Bold. When Charles, son of Philip, on the 
death of his grandfather, Ferdinand, succeeded to the 
crown of Spain, he added the Low Countries to its pos- 
sessions ; and, on the death of his other grandfather, Maxi- 
milian, he inherited the sovereignty of Austria, and was 
elected Emperor of Germany (1519). It was the grandest 
empire Europe had seen since the days of Augustus, uniting, 
as it did, under one sceptre, the infantry of Spain, the 
looms of Flanders, and the gold of Peru. 

Charles's Rivalry with Francis. — Francis I. had been 
a candidate for the imperial crown, and his vanity was sorely 
hurt by Charles's success. Henceforth these two monarchs 
were bitter enemies. Their rivalry deluged Europe in blood. 

Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520).— Ere beginning hos- 
tilities, both kings sought to win the friendship of Henry 
VIII. Francis met that monarch near Calais. The mag- 
nificence displayed gave to the field its name. The two 
kings feasted and played together like school-boys.* Henry 
swore not to cut his beard until he should again visit his 
^'good brother; " Francis made a like vow, and long beards 
became the latest French fashion. 

But Charles negotiated more quietly, and, while he flat- 
tered the bluff and good-natured Henry, won his all-power- 

* The three mightiest sovereigns of Europe in the first half of the 16th century — 
Henry VIII. of England, Charles V. of Spain, and Francis I. of France— all assumed 
their crowns before reaching their majority. 



128 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, 



[1^20. 




FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD. 



fill minister. Cardinal Wolsey, by hopes of the papacy. A 
league was soon after formed of the pope, the emperor, and 
the king of England against Francis. 

Battle of Pavia (1525). — Italy was again the principal 
battlefield. Francis, anxious to renew the glories of Marig- 
nano, led a magnificent army across the Alps, and besieged 
Pavia. There he was attacked by the imperialists under 
Bourbon.* At first, the French artillery swept all before it. 

* The duke of Bourbon was Constable of France. But having been neglected by 
the king and wronged by the queen-mother, he fled to the enemy for revenge, drove 
the French out of Italy, and invaded Provence. Francis forced the imperialists back, 
and followed them across the Alps, thus beginning the fatal campaign of Pavia. Dur- 
ing the French retreat, Chevalier Bayard was struck by a ball U534). Bourbon coming 
up offered him words of cheer. The dying hero replied, " Think rather of yourself in 
arms against your king, your country, and your oath! " The universal horror felt in 
France at Bourbon's treacheiy shows the increased sanctity of the royal authority 
over feudal times, and the influence of the recent revival of classic literature which 
taught treason to one's country to be a crime of the blackest dye. The nobles who 
joined in the " League of the Pub'ic Good" with Charles the Bold against Louis XI. 
were not considered traitors, yet that was little over half a century before. (Brief 
France, p. 115.) 



1525.^ THE AGE OF CHARLES V. 129 

Francis, thinking the enemy about to flee, charged with his 
knights, but, coming before his guns, checked their fire. 
Thereupon the imperialists rallied, and a terrible hand- 
to-hand conflict ensued. The flower of the French nobles 
was cut down. The Swiss, forgetting their ancient valor, 
fled. Francis himself, hemmed in on all sides, wounded, 
unhorsed, and covered with blood and dust, at last yielded 
his sword.. 

Treaty of Madrid. — The royal prisoner was carried to 
Madrid, and confined in the gloomy tow^er of the Alcazar. 
There, pining in captivity, he fell sick. The crafty emperor, 
fearing to lose the ransom, released him, on his agreeing to 
surrender Burgundy and his Italian claims, and give up his 
two sons as hostages. On the way home, Francis vapored 
much about Regulus, but quickly broke his promise, and 
signed a treaty with the pope, Henry, and the Venetians, to 
drive the imperialists out of Italy. 

Sack of Rome. — Charles now sent Bourbon into Italy. 
His men being unpaid and eager for plunder, he led them to 
Eome as the richest prize. Bourbon was shot as he was 
placing a ladder, but the infuriated soldiery quickly scaled 
the walls. Never had the Eternal City suffered from Goth 
or Vandal as she now did from the subjects of a Christian 
emperor.* The sack lasted for months. Finally, a plague 
carried off conquerors as well as inhabitants, and, of all 
Bourbon's host, scarcely 500 men survived to evacuate the 
city, on the approach of the French army of relief. 

Ladies' Peace (1529). — ^re long, however, the French 
met with their usual defeat in Italy; Andrea Doria, the 
famous Genoese patriot, going over to Charles, became adm> 



* When Charles learned that the pope was a prisoner he ordered his court into 
mourning and, with strange hypocrisy, directed prayers to be said for the release 
which he could have effected by a word. It was in effect praying to himself. 



130 THE SIXTEE2S"TH CENTUEY. [1529. 

ral of the Spanisli fleet; and so Francis, anxious to recover 
his sons from the emperor, concluded a treaty. As it was 
negotiated by the king's mother and the emperor's aunt, it 
is known in history as the Ladies' Peace. 

The Turks. — Meanwhile, Charles had found a new foe, 
and Francis, a singular ally. The Turks, under sultan Soly- 
mau the Magnificent, using the cannon that breached the 
walls of Constantinople, had driven the Knights of St. John 
out of the isle of Rhodes ; * subdued Egypt ; devastated 
Hungary;! and even appeared under the walls of Vienna 
(1529). Menaced thus, Charles, notwithstanding his Italian 
triumphs, was very willing to listen to the ladies when, as we 
have seen, they talked of peace. Soon after, however, Soly- 
man having made an alliance with Francis, who cared less 
for differences of faith than for revenge upon the emperor, 
raised a vast army, and, again wasting Hungary, threatened 
Vienna. The flower and strength of Germany rallied under 
Charles's banners and forced the infidel to an inglorious 
retreat. 

The emperor next sought to cripple the Turkish power by 
sea. Crossing the Mediterranean, he attacked Tunis which 
Barbarossa, the Algerine pirate in command of Solyman's 
fleet, had seized. In the midst of the desperate struggle 
that ensued, ten thousand Christian slaves, confined in the 

" * The knights made a gallant defence, a single man with his arquebuse being said 

to have shot five hundred Turks. Thirty-two Turkish mines were destroyed, but 
finally one burst, throwing down a part of the city wall. The Grand Master, L'lsle 
Adam, rushed from the church where he was at prayer, only to find the Crescent 
already planted in the opening. He instantly dashed into the midst of the Turks, 
tore down the standard, and, with his brave knights, drove them back. For thirty- 
four nights he slept in the breach. At last, sorely against his will, the Hospitallers 
agreed to surrender their stronghold. L'Isle Adam sailed away with the survivors. 
Charles gave him the rocky island of Malta. There he established a well-nigh im- 
pregnable fortress for the lieneflt of distressed seamen of every nation. 

t The Hungarian king having been slain in the battle of Mohacs (1526), the crown 
ultimately fell to his brother-in-law, Ferdinand of Austria, afterward emperor. It 
has ever since been held by the archdukes of Austria (p. 79). 



1538] THE AGE OF CHARLES V. 131 

castle, broke their fetters, and turned its guns upon their 
masters. The city was carried by assault. The released cap- 
tives were sent home, to the joy of all Christendom. 

The pope finally mediated a truce between the rivals. 
Charles, while en route to Flanders, visited Paris. Francis 
in an ecstasy of hospitality exclaimed to his late enemy : 
^' Here we are united, my brother and I. We must have the 
same foes and the same friends. We will equip a fleet 
against the Turks, and Andrea Doria shall be the com- 
mander." Brave words all, but soon forgotten. 

The emperor, thinking to blunt the edge of the Turkish 
sabre by a second expedition against the African pirates, 
sailed to Algiers ; but his ships were destroyed by a storm, 
and his troops by a famine. Francis seized the opportunity 
and raised five great armies to attack Charles's wide-spread 
empire. Solyman invaded Hungary, and Barbarossa ravaged 
the coasts of Spain and Italy. Europe was amazed to see the 
lilies of France and the crescent of Mohammed appear before 
Nice, and Christian captives sold by the corsairs in the mar- 
ket of Marseilles. It seemed as if the days of Martel had 
returned, and there was again peril of a Mohammedan 
empire girding the Mediterranean ; only the infidels were 
now brutal Turks instead of refined Saracens. 

Treaty of Crespy (1544). — But this was not to be. 
Henry renewed his alliance with Charles, and they invaded 
France from opposite sides. Charles was beaten at CerisoUes, 
but Henry pushed to within two-days march of Paris. 
Already its citizens, panic-struck, had begun to move their 
valuables to Eouen, when Francis sued for peace. The 
Treaty of Crespy ended the wars of these monarchs that for 
nearly twenty-five years had been so fruitful of wrong and 
misery. 



133 THE SIXTEENTH CENTUEY. 



2. THE EEFORMATION. 

The Reformation in Germany was the great event of the 
16th century. Nowhere else had the Kevival of Learning 
caused such a general stir of thought. The abuses of the 
church had long been a source of sorrow to every sincere 
Christian. The bishops^ little different from secular princes, 
were fond of show, and neglectful of their duties ; many of 
the clergy were. idle, ignorant, and corrupt; while the cleri- 
cal fees and tithes were exacted with the greatest strictness. 
The Councils of Constance and Bale had, in vain, attempted 
a reform. The revolt of the Albigenses so long before ; the 
old-time feuds between pope and emperor; the teachings of 
Wyclilfe, Huss, Jerome, and Savonarola ; the sarcastic writ- 
ings of Erasmus ; and now the reading of the Bible itself, — 
all conspired to lead men to doubt the authority of the 
church, and to demand freedom of thought. A little inci- 
dent brought every cause of difficulty to a focus. 

Luther's Attack on Indulgences. — In 1517, there came 
into Saxony one Tetzel, a Dominican friar, selling indul- 
gences. The wickedness and impudence of this man, who 
was better fitted to receive than dispense pardon for sin, 
aroused general indignation. This feeling found vent when 
Martin Luther,* a professor in the University at Wittenberg, 

* Martin Luther was bora at Eisleben, 1483; died, 1546. "My father," said the 
reformer, " was a poor wood-cuTrter, and my mother has often carried wood on her 
back to get means for raising her children." Martin was brought up very strictly ; 
once at school he was flogged fifteen times during a single forenoon. At fifteen, he 
became a " wimdering scholar "in Eisenach, earning his bread, after the custom of the 
day, by singing in the streets. His diligence and studionsness, as well as his sweet 
voice, won him friends, and, finally, his father becoming able to aid him, Martin fin- 
ished his education at the University of Erfurt. The reading of a Bible, then a rare 
book and hence chained to the desk in the library, awakened his thought, and, against 
his father's wish, he entered an Ausustine monastery. In 1508, he was appointed 
professor in the University at Wittenberg, just founded by the Elector Frederick; in 
1510, going to Rome on business for his order, he saw so much of the wickedness of the 
priesthood in that time of deep spiritual darkness that he returned home bent upon 
reform. Toward the town where this zealous, flaming preacher was crying to crowds 



1517.] THE AGE OF CHAELES V. 133 

nailed on the cathedral door, after the manner of scholars of 
the time, 95 propositions wliich he stood ready to defend. 
These asserted that absolution could be pronounced only 
after repentance, and that the sale of indulgences being 
contrary to Scripture and the true Catholic faith must be 
unknown to the pope. 

Luther Burns the Papal Bull (1520).— At first Leo 
paid little attention to the controversy which now ensued, 
esteeming it merely a quarrel between the Augustine and 
the Dominican friars. Finally, the thunder of the Vatican 
broke. The daring preacher was excommunicated. Luther 
replied by publicly burning the papal bull. Friends gathered 
about the fiery monk. The elector of Saxony refused to give 
up his popular professor. Ulric von Hutten, a scholar- 
knight, poised his poet's pen in Luther's defence; while 
Phihp Melanchthon, a gentle young man deep in Greek and 
Hebrew, stood bravely by his side. 

Luther at Worms (1521). — The emperor Charles held 
his first diet at Worms. Thither Luther was summoned to 
answer for his heresy. To his friends who, remembering the 
fate of Huss, dissuaded him from complying, he replied, 
^^ Were there as many devils in Worms as tiles on the roof, 
yet would I go." Standing alone in the august presence of 
the emperor and in the midst of the brilliant assembly of 
cardinals, bishops, and courtiers, the pale monk refused to 
recant. "It is neither safe nor wise," he exclaimed, " to do 
anything against conscience. Here I stand. God help me !" 
Having the emperor's safe-conduct,* Luther was allowed to 
depart ; but he was denounced as a heretic, and his supporters 
were put under the ban of the empire. 

of eager listeners, " The just shall live by faith," came Tetzel. The result could have 
been easily foreseen. 

* Charles was urged to break his word, and not let Luther go home under his safe- 
cppduct ; but he nobly replied^ " IS^o J I do not mean to blush like Sigismund " (p. 80), 



lU 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, 



[1520. 




LUTHER BEFORE THE DIET OF WORMS. 



After the diet, Charles left Germany, and, absorbed in his 
great struggle with Francis, did not return for nine years. 

Luther's Patmos. — By order of the Elector of Saxony, 
who determined to conceal Luther until the storm blew over, 
the reformer was carried, by knights in disguise, to the lonely 
castle of the Wartburg. In this quiet retreat, which he called 
his Patmos, he staid nearly a year, engaged in translating the 
Bible into German.* 

* This book was not finished until 1534, though Luthor was aided hy Melanchthon, 
and other scholars. Up to this time, there was no language accepted throughout the 
empire. The learned wrote in Latin ; the minnesingers, in Swabian ; and many used 
the dialects— Saxon, Franconian. etc. Luther, passing by the diction of the theologi- 
cal school^ and the courts, sought the expressive phrases employed by the people. 
For this purpose,, he visited the market-place and social gatherings, often spending 
days over a single phrase. No sentence was admitted into the translation until it had 
crystallized Into pure, idiomatic German. Thus Luthor did more than he dreamed. 
The Bible soon became the model of style ; and its High-German, the standard Of 
cultivated Qonvereation ^nd polite literature, 



1522.] THE AGE OF CHARLES V. 135 

Progress of the Reformation. — When Luther returned 
to his old i)ulpit, the lleformation went on apace. Several 
powerful princes adopted the Lutheran doctrines. In their 
provinces, convents were suppressed; church lands confis- 
cated; services held in the language of the people; and 
monks permitted to marry, Luther setting the example by 
wedding Catharine von Bora, a nun. 

The new doctrines rapidly spread* into northern Ger- 
many, France, Switzerland,! England, Scotland, Denmark, 
Norway, and Sweden. The Teutonic nations, with a few 
exceptions, finally adopted them in some form, while the 
Latin nations remained faithful to the church of Eome. 

Lutherans called Protestants (1529). — Archduke Fer- 
dinand, alarmed by the progress of the reformers under 
Luther and of the Turks under Solyman, called a diet at 
Spires. The Catholics, being in the majority, passed a decree 
forbidding any further change in religion. The Lutheran 
princes and cities formally protested against this action— 
whence they were called Protestants. 

The Ladies' Peace now giving Charles leisure, he revisited 
Germany, and held a diet at Augsburg. X A statement of the 

* Princes and cities, vexed at the money drained from their people by the Roman 
pontiff, and quite willing to secure the vast possessions of the church, saw their inter- 
ests lyincr along the line of the new faith. So " policy was more Lutheran than relig- 
ious reform," and they eagerly seized upon this opportunity to emancipate themselves 
at once from emperor and pope. Thus the Reformation gradually became a struggle 
for political power quite as much as for religious freedom. 

t Switzerland had its own reformation. Zwingle, the leader, was more radical 
than Luther. He wished to purify state as well as church. After his death in battle, 
the people of Geneva invited thither the great French reformer. Calvin. Ecclesiasti- 
cal courts were established, and a rigid discipline was enforced that reached to the 
minutest detail of life. Under this despotic rule Geneva became the most moral city 
in Europe, and the home of letters and orthodoxy. Calvin's doctrines, more than 
those of any other reformer, molded men's minds. The Huguenots, the Dutch Wal- 
loons, the Scotch Presbyterians, and the New England Puritans, all were stamped 
with his type of thotight. 

X Charles was entertained at the splendid mansion of Anthony Fuseer, a famous 
merchant-prince of Augsburg. At the close of the visit, the host invited the emperor 
into his study and there threw upon a fire of cinnamon— then a very costly spice— the 
bonds which Charles had given him for loans to carry on his wars with Francis. 



136 THE SIXTEENTH CEKTUEY. [1530. 

Protestant doctrine was here read which afterward became 
famous as the Augsburg Confession — the creed of the Ger- 
man reformers. Instead of one poor monk, as at Worms, 
Charles had now to deal with half of Germany. But he 
again denounced the heresy, and put all who held it under 
the ban of the empire. 

Smalcaldic League (1531).^ — The Protestant princes 
organized at Smalcald for mutual protection. But Soly- 
man haying once more marched upon Vienna, Charles, in 
the face of this peril, granted the reformers liberty of con- 
science. Forthwith, the Protestants and Catholics gathered 
under the imperial banner, and the Turks hastily retreated. 
Charles now left Germany for another nine-years absence. 

Smalcaldic War (1546-'7).— The treaty of Crespy free- 
ing Charles from further fear of Francis, he determined to 
crush the Keformation. The Council of Trent (1545-'63) 
was called, but the Protestants, taking no part in the deliber- 
ations, rejected its decrees. Meanwhile, civil war broke out. 
The Protestant leaders were irresolute. Prince Maurice of 
Saxony abjured the reformed religion, joined Charles, and 
overran the territory of his cousin, the Elector Frederick. 
The league fell to pieces. Only Frederick and Philip, the 
landgrave of Hesse, remained in the field. Charles, bold 
and wary as ever, defeated and captured the former, while 
Maurice persuaded the latter, his father-in-law, to surrender. 

Charles's Triumph now seemed complete. The boldest 
Protestant leaders were in prison. The sword of Francis 
and the pen of Luther were both rusting in the grave. 
Germany was, at last, prostrate before her Spanish lord. A 
proud and haughty conqueror,* he brought Spanish infantry 

* History, however, records a brighter trait in Charles's character. Visiting 
Luther's grave, one of his attendants urged that the body of the reformer should be 
dug up and burned. The emperor nobly replied, " No 1 I make war on the living, 
not on the dead." 



1548.] THE AGE OF CHARLES V. ISI' 

to overawe tlie disaffected; forced upon the unwilling people 
the Interim — a compromise between the two religions, which 
was hateful to both Catholics and Protestants ; and sought 
to have the succession taken from his brother Ferdinand, 
and given to his son — the cold and gloomy Philip. 

Maurice Revolts. — At this juncture, the man who won 
Charles the victory, undid his work. Maurice, impatient of 
the name ^^ traitor" and indignant because his father-in-law 
was kept in prison, organized a revolt, and made an alliance 
with Henry II. of France. 

Protestant Triumph. — Suddenly, the confederates took 
the field. Henry seized Toul, Verdun, and the strong fortress 
of Metz, without striking a blow. To escape from Maurice, 
the emperor at Innspruck fled through the stormy night 
along the mountain-paths of the Tyrol.* The Council of 
Trent broke up in dread. Charles was forced to bend, and, 
by the Treaty of Passaio (1552), to grant toleration to the 
Protestants. 

Charles's Abdication (1556). — Imperial disasters now 
followed fast. Charles tried to recover Metz, but was 
defeated by the Duke of Guise — a French leader then new 
to fame. The Turkish fleet ravaged the coast of Italy. The 
pope, offended by the toleration granted the Protestants, 
made an alliance with Henry of France. Charles, sad, dis- 
appointed, and baffled, laid down the crown, f His son 



* Maurice, if he had deemed it politic, could have prevented the escape, but, as 
the emperor himself once said, " Some birds are too big for any cage "—a truth that 
Charles well learned after the battle of Pavia. 

t He tnu3 followed the example of Diocletian (A.nc. Peo., p. 263). After his retire- 
ment, Charles went to the monastery of St. Just in Spain. Though only fifty-six, hav- 
ing been born in the same ye^r with his century, he w^as prematurely old— the victim 
of gluttony. Now, shut in by groves of oak and chestnut, and under the shadow of the 
lofty mountains, the late emperor joined the monks in their religious exercises, or 
amused himself by various mechanical contrivances— the making of v/atches and 
curious little puppets. Unable, however, to absorb himself in his new life, he eagerly 
watched the tidings of the busy world he had left behind. Que day the morbid fancy 



13S THE SIXTEENTH OEKTrSY. [1556. 

Philip 11. , husband of Mary, queen of England, received 
Spain, the Netherlands, and the Two Sicilies; while Fer- 
dinand of Austria was chosen emperor. 

End of the War. — Philip for a time continued the strug- 
gle with France, and won the battle of St. Quentin (1557) ; * 
but Guise's capture of Calais from the English, who had held 
it over two centuries, consoled the French. The Treaty of 
Cdteau-Cambresis (1559) closed the long contest, and empha- 
sized the division of Europe into Catholic and Protestant 
nations. 

The Condition of Germany during the remainder of the 16th 
century was that of mutual fear and .suspicion. The Calvinists were 
excluded from the Treaty of Passau, and the feeling between them and 
the Lutherans was as bitter as between both and the Catholics. The 
different parties watched one another with growing dislike and doubt, 
every rustling leaf awakening fresh suspicion. Minor divisions arose 
among the Protestants. Each petty court had its own school of theo- 
logians, and the inspiration of the early reformers degenerated into 
wrangles about petty doctrines and dogmas. No true national life 
could exist in such an atmosphere. Ferdinand I. and his successor, 
Maximilian 11. , managed to hold the unsteady balance between the 
conflicting parties; but under Rudolph II., Catholic and Protestant 
leagues were formed. Matthias got his cousin Ferdinand chosen king 
of Hungary and Bohemia ; on the death of Matthias, Ferdinand 11. 
was elected emperor (1619). He was a 'bitter foe of the Reformation, 
and the closing of two Protestant churches (1618) in his territory 
proved the signal for the Thirty- Years War (p. 174). 



seized him to have his funeral services performed. He took part in the solemn 
pageant, standing by the side of his empty coffin, holding a torch, and chanting a 
dirge. The dread reality followed within three weeks (1558). 

* When Charles, in his retirement, heard of this victory, he exclaimed : " Is not 
my son now in Paris? " Philip, however, derived no advantage from it, except the 
glory of the day and the plan of the huge palace of the Escurial, which is built in paral- 
lel rows like the bars of a gridiron, in memory of St. Lawrence, on whose day the bat- 
tle was fought and whose martyrdom consisted in being broiled over a slow fire. 



ftlSE Of* THE DUTCH HEPUBLlO. 



135 



III. RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC. 

The Netherlands, now Holland and Belgium, by the 
marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian, fell to tlie 
House of Hapsburg. When her grandson resigned these 
provinces to Philip, they formed the richest possession of 
the Spanish crown. The looms of Flanders were world- 
renowned. The manufactories of Ghent had one hundred 
thousand artisans. In the Scheldt at Antwerp twenty-five 
hundred ships were often to be seen waiting their turn to 
come to the wharfs, while five thousand merchants daily 
thronged the city exchange. 




SACKING A CATHEDRAL. 



The Reformation made great progress among this liberty- 
loving people. Philip, declaring that he would rather be 
no king: than to reio^n over heretics, soon sought to crush the 



140 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, [1561 

new doctrines by the terrors of the Inquisition. =^ Tumurts 
arose. Many beautiful cathedrals with their treasures of art 
were sacked by the mob. 

The Duke of Alva was now sent thither with an army 
of Spanish veterans (1567). This remorseless tyrant, and 
his dreaded Council of Blood, within six years put to death 
eighteen thousand persons, and passed sentence of death 
upon the entire population ! Thousands of workmen, fleeing 
in terror, carried to England the manufacturing skill of 
Bruges and Ghent. 

Meanwhile, William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, known 
in history as the Silent, took the field in defence of his per- 
secuted countrymen. Then began their 

Forty- Years War (1568-1609) for freedom. This long 
struggle is memorable in history on account of the heroic 
defence the cities made against the Spanish armies, f The 



* A deputation of nobles to protest against this measure was styled hj a scornful 
courtier, a "Pack of Beggars." This being reported to the nobles at a banquet, 
one of them hung about his neck a beggar's wallet, and taking up a wooden bowl of 
wine — all merrily drank to the toast, "Long live the beggars." The name became 
thenceforth their proud title. 

t Harlem was besieged by Don Frederick, Alva's son, in 1572. Having breached 
the defences, he ordered an assault. Forthwith the-church bells rang the alarm. 
Men and women flocked to the walls. Thence they showered upon the besieg- 
ers stones and boiling oil, and dexterously threw down over their necks hoops 
dripping with burning pitch. Spanish courage and ferocity shrunk back appalled at 
such a determined resistance by an entire population. Don Frederick then betook 
to mining ; the citizens countermined. Spaniard and Netherlander met in deadly 
conflict within passages dimly lighted by lanterns, and so narrow that the dagger 
only could be used. At times, showers of mingled stones, earth, and human bodies, 
shot high into the air, as if from some concealed volcano. The Prince made several 
futile attempts to relieve the city. In one of these, John Haring sprung upon a narrow 
dike, and alone held in check one thousand of the enemy until his friends made good 
their escape, when, Horatius-like, he leaped into the sea, and swam off unharmed. 
Hope of rescue finally failed the besieged, and then famine added to their horrors. 
Dogs, cats, and mice were devoured ; shoe-leather was soaked and eaten ; while 
gaunt spectres wandered to and fro, eagerly seizing the scattered spires of grass and 
weeds, to allay the torment of hunger. In the last extremity, the soldiers proposed 
to form a hollow square, put the women and children in the centre, fire the city, and 
then cut their way out. The seven-months siege had taught the Spaniards the issue 
of such a struggle of despair, and they offered terms of surrender. But when Alva's 
legions were inside the walls, he forgot all save revenge, butchered garrison and citi- 



142 THE SIXTEENTH CEl^TUET. [1576. 

Silent One, with his devotion to duty, constancy in adversity, 
and marvelous statesmanship, is the central figure of the 
contest. In 1576 (two centuries before our '76) he united 
the provinces in a league called the Pacification of Ghent. 
But the northern and the southern provinces were unlike 
in race and religion. The former were Teutonic, and 
mostly Protestant ; the latter, Celtic and largely Catholic. 
Jealousies arose. The league fell in pieces. William then 
formed the seven northern provinces into the U?iion of 
Utrecht — the foundation of the Dutch Eepublic. The Prince 
was chosen first stadtholder. 

Philip, the gloomy tyrant of the Escurial, having set a 
price upon William's head, this patriot leader was assassin- 
ated (1584). When the sad news flew through Holland, 
even the little children wept in the streets. 

Maurice of Nassau, the Prince's second son, was chosen 
in his father's place. Though only in his seventeenth year, 
he proved to he a rare general; while, at his side, stood the 

zens alike, and, when the executioners were weary, tied three hundred wretches 
together, two by two, back to back, and hurled them into the lake. 

Leyden was besieged by Valdez In 1574. A chain of sixty-two forts cut off all 
communication, except by means of carrier pigeons, which, flying high in air, 
bore tidings between the Prince and the city. (The stuffed skins of these faithful 
messengers are still preserved in the town hall.) Soon famine came, moi^e bitter 
even, if possible, than that at Harlem. The starving crowd was at last driven to the 
burgomaster, demanding food or a surrender. " I have sworn not to yield," was the 
heroic reply ; "but take my sword, plunge it into my breast, and divide my flesh 
among you." These words raised their courage anew, and, clambering upon the walls, 
they took their places again, calling out to the enemy in defiance, " Before we give up, 
we will eat our left arms to give strength to our right." The Prince had no army to 
send to their relief: but the Sea Beggars were outside pacing the decks of their ships, 
and chafing at the delay. For, though the patriots, crying out that "a drowned 
land is better than a lost land," had cut the dikes to let in the ocean upon their fertile 
fields, the water was too shallow to float the fleet. One night the tempest came. 
The waters of the North Sea were piled high on the Holland coast. The waves, 
di'iven by a west wind, swept irresistibly over the land. The ships, loaded with 
food, were borne to the very walls of the city. The Spaniards, dismayed by the 
incoming ocean, fled in terror. The happy people flocked with their deliverers to 
the cathedral, to pour out their thanksgiving to God. Prayer was offered, and then 
a hymn begun ; but the tide of emotion rose too high, and, checking the song, the 
vast audience wept together tears of joy and gratitude. Read Motley's account in 
the " Rise of the Dutch Republic." 

141 full-page Map Wars in France, etc. 



1584.] RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC. 143 

skillful diiilomat and devoted patriot, John of Barneveld. 
In time, both France and England became allies of the states, 
and took part in the struggle. 

The Dutch sailors early won great renown. Their light, 
active ships beat the clumsy Spanish galleons, alike in trade 
and war. A Dutch Indiaman would sail to the Antipodes 
and back while a Portuguese or a Spaniard was making the 
outward voyage. The East India Company, founded in 
1602, conquered islands and kingdoms in Asia, and carried 
on a lucrative trade with China and Japan. Spain and 
Portugal, pioneers in the East, now bought spices, silks, and 
gems, of Holland merchants. 

Result of the War. — The King of Spain, then Philip III., 
was finally forced to grant a truce, in which he treated with 
the seven United Provinces as if free ; though he refused 
formally to acknowledge tlieir independence until the Treaty 
of Westphalia (1648). The southern, or Belgian provinces, 
remained in the possession of Spain. 

Free Holland now took her place among the nations. 
Her fields bloomed like a garden ; her shops rang with the 
notes of industry; and her harbors bristled with masts. In 
the seventeenth century she was a power in the European 
States-System, and her alliance was eagerly courted ; while 
Spain fell so rapidly th.at foreign princes arranged for a 
division of her territory without consulting her sovereign. * 



* By the expulsion of the remaining Moors, Philip Til. drove out of Spain six 
hundred thousand of her most industrious and thrifty citizens, transferred to other 
countries five-sixths of her commerce and manufactures, and reduced the revenue 
over one-half. The nation never recovered from this impolitic and unjust act. It 
should be remembered, however, that persecution was the spirit of the age. Even 
the mild Isabella consented to expel the Jews, to the number of one hundred and 
sixty thousand, and though this edict caused untold misery, yet at the time it was 
lauded as a signal instance of piety.' Toleration was not understood, even by the 
reformers of Germany or England, and all parties believed that it was riglit to 
punish or, if necessary, to bum a man's body, in order to save his soul. 



144 



THE SllTElJIirTH CiEKtttRt. 



IV. CIVIL-RELIGIOUS WARS OF FRANCE. 



The Reformation took deep root in France, especially 
among the nobility. Though Francis I. and Henry II. aided 
the German reformers in order to weaken Charles V., to 
schism at home they showed no mercy. By the treaties of 
Crespy and Oatean-Cambresis they were pledged to stamp 
out the new religion. Francis relentlessly persecuted the 

Vaudois, a simple moun- 
tain folk of the Pied- 
mont; Henry celebrated 
the coronation of his wife 
Catharine de' Medici, 
with a bonfire of heretics, 
and sought to establish 
the Inquisition in France, 
as had been done in the 
Netherlands. In spite 
of persecution, however, 
Calyinist prayers and 
hymns were heard even 
in the royal palace. The 
Huguenots— as the Protestants were called— began to claim 
the same rights that their German brethren had secured at 
Passau. Denied these, they organized a revolt. During the 
reigns of Henry II. 's three sons, Francis II., Charles IX., 
and Henry III., who successively came to the throne, France 
was convulsed by the horrors of civil war. 

The Leaders.— The Catholic leaders were Catharine, the 
Constable Montmorenci, and the two Guises— Francis the 
Duke, and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine. They were 
supported by the Church and Spain. 




CATHARINE DE MEDICI. 



1559.] CIVIL-RELIGIOUS WARS OF FRAITCE. 145 




ADMIRAL COLIGNY. 



At the head of the 
Huofuenots stood the 
King of Navarre, and 
the Prince of Conde — 
both Bourbons claim- 
ing descent from St. 
Louis — and Admiral 
Colignv, nephew of 
Montmorenci. They 
were befriended by the 
reformers of Germany, 
England, and the Neth- 
erlands. 

The Situation. — The remaining kings of the Valois line 
were young, weak, and unfit to contend with the profound 
questions and violent men of the time. The Bourbons hated 
the Guises, and each plotted the other's ruin. Catharine, 
a wily, heartless Italian, moving between the factions like a 
spirit of evil, schemed for power. Her maxim was, " Divide 
and govern." She cared little for religion, but opposed 
the Huguenots because their aristocratic leaders sought to 
strengthen the nobles at the expense of the king. Thus 
political mingled with religious motives, and the struggle 
was quite as much for the triumph of rival chiefs as for 
that of any form of faith. 

Francis II. (1559-60), a sickly boy of sixteen, fascinated 
by the charms of his girl-wife, the beautiful Mary Queen of 
Scots, was ruled, through her, by her uncles, the Guises. 
The Bourbons planned to remove the king from their influ- 
ence. The Guises detected the plot, and took a ferocious 
revenge. Conde himself escaped only by the king's sudden 
death. Mary returned to Scotland to work out her sad 
destiny, ^ 



146 



THE SIXTEENTH 0E:N"TURT. 



imM. 



Charles IX. (1560-'74), a child-king of ten, was now 
j)ushed to the front. Catharine, as regent,* tried to hold the 
balance between the two parties. But the Catholics, be- 
coming exasperated, resented every concession to the Hugue- 
nots ; while the Huguenots, growing exultant, often inter- 
rupted the worship and broke the images in the Catholic 
churches. One Sunday 
(1562) the Duke of Guise 
was riding through Fas- 
sy as a Huguenot con- 
gregation were gathering 
for worship. His attend- 
ants, sword in hand, fell 
upon the Protestants. 
This massacre was the 
opening scene in 

A Series of Eight Civil 
Wars, which, interrupted 
by seven short and un- 
steady treaties of peace, 
lasted in all over thirty 
years. Plots, murders, 
treacheries, thickened fast. Guise was assassinated ; Cond6 
was shot in cold blood. Navarre and Montmorenci, more 
fortunate, fell in battle. Guise was succeeded by his brother 
Henry, while Navarre's place was taken by his gallant son, 
afterward Henry IV. 

The treaty of St. Germain, the third lull of hostilities in 
this bloody series, gave promise of permanence. Charles 




HENRY, DUKE OF GUISE. 



* It is noticeable that about this time a large part of Europe was governed by- 
women. England, by Elizabeth ; Spain, by Juana, princess regent ; the Netherlands, 
by Margaret of Parma, acting as regent for Philip ; Navarre, by Queen Jane ; Scot- 
land, by Mary ; and Portugal, by the regent-mother, Catharine of Austria, sister of 
Charles V. 



ljr;2.j ciyiL-EELiGious wars of trance. 147 

offered his sister Margaret in marriage to Henry of Navarre. 
The principal Huguenots iflocked to Paris, to witness the 
wedding festivities. Ooligny won the confidence of the 
king, and an army was sent to aid the reformers in the 
Netherlands. Catharine, seeing her power waning, resolved 
to assassinate Coligny. The attempt failed ; the Huguenots 
swore revenge. In alarm, Catharine with her friends decided 
to crush the Huguenot party at one horrible blow. With 
difficulty, Charles was persuaded to consent to 

The Massacre of St. Bartlwlometo (August 24, 1572). 
Before daybreak the impatient Catharine gave the signal. 
Instantly lights gleamed from the windows. Bands of 
murderers thronged the streets. Guise himself hurried to 
Coligny's house; his attendants rushed in, found the old 
man at prayer, stabbed him to death, and threw his body 
from the window that G-uise might feast his eyes upon his 
fallen enemy. Everywhere echoed the cry, *^'Kill! kill!" 
The slaughter went on for days. In Paris alone ten thousand 
persons perished ; while in the provinces each city had its 
own St. Bartholomew. (Brief France, p. 130.) 

Result. — The Huguenots, dazed for a moment, flew to 
arms with the desperation of despair. Many moderate 
Catholics joined them. Charles, unable to banish from his 
eyes the horrible scenes of that fatal night, died at last a 
victim of remorse. 

Henry III. (1574-'89) next ascended the throne. Frivo- 
lous and vicious, he met with contempt on every side. The 
violent Catholics formed a '^^ League to extirpate Heresy." 
Its leader was the Duke of Guise, who now threatened to 
become another Pepin to a second Childeric. The king had 
this dangerous rival assassinated in the royal cabinet. Paris 
rose in a frenzy at the death of its idol. Henry fled for 
protection to the Huguenot camp. A fanatic^ instigated by 



148 



THE SIXTEENTH CEKTURY. 



[1589. 



Guise's sister, entered his tent and stabbed tbe monarch to 
the heart. Thus ended the Valois line.* 

Henry of Navarre (1589-1610) now became king as 
Henry IV., the first of the Bourbon House (p. 49). To 
crush the League, however, took five years more of war. 
The crisis came at Ivry, where the Huguenots followed 
Henry's white plume to a signal victory. Finally, in order 
to end the struggle, he abjured the Protestant religion. 
The next year he was crowned at Paris (1594). 

Henry's Administration brought to France a sweet calm 
after the turmoil of war. By the Edict of Nantes (1598), 

he granted toleration to the 
Huguenots. With his fa- 
mous minister, Sully, he re- 
stored the finances, erected 
public edifices, built ships, en- 
couraged silk manufacture, 
and endowed schools and 
libraries. The common peo- 
ple found in him a friend, 
and he often declared that 
he should not be content 
until ^^the poorest peasant 
in his realm had a fowl for 

SULLY. 

his pot every Sunday." This 
prosperous reign was cut short by the dagger of the assassin 
Eavaillac (1610). 

* It is a house distinguished for misfortunes. Every monarch save one (Charles V.) 
left a record of loss or shame. Philip VI. was defeated at Sluys and Crecy and lost 
Calais. John, beaten at Poitiers, died a prisoner in England. Charles VI., conquered 
at Azincourt, v^'as forced to acknowledge the English monarch heir of his kingdom. 
Charles VII. owed his crown to a peasant girl, and finally starved himself for fear of 
poisoning by his son. Louis XI., taken prisoner by Burgundy, was for days in danger 
of execution ; he died hated by all. Charles VITI. and Louis XIT. met reverses in 
Italy. Francis I. was taken prisoner at Pavia. Henry II. suffered the sting of the 
defeat at St. Quentin, and was slain in a tilting match. Francis II. fortunately died 
young. Charles IX. perished with the memory of St. Bartholomew j^esting upoij 
bim ; and Henry lU. was mur<Jere^, 




ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS. 149 



V. ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS (1485-1603). 

The Tudor Rule covered, in general, the sixteenth 
century. Its monarchs were despots. Then began the era 
of absolutism, such as Louis XL had introduced into France, 
but which was curbed in England by the Charter, Parliament, 
and the free spirit of the people. The characteristic features 
of the period were the rise of Protestantism, of commerce, 
and of literature. 



TABLE OF THE TUDOR LINE. 

Henry VII. (1485-1509) m. Elizabeth of York. 

I 



Margaret. Henry VHI. (1509-'47). 

I I 



James V. of Scotland. Edward VI. (1547). Mary (1553). Elizabeth (1558). 

Mary Queen of Scots. 

James VI. of Scotland and I. of England. Stuart Line. 

1. Henry VII. (1485-1509), hailed king on the field of 
Bosworth, by his marriage with Elizabeth of York blended 
the roses. The ground-swell of the civil war, however, still 
agitated the country. Two impostors claimed the throne. 
Both were put down after much bloodshed. Avarice was 
Henry's ruling trait. Promising to invade France, he 
secured supplies from Parliament, extorted from wealthy 
persons gifts — curiously termed '^^ benevolences," * crossed 
the channel, made peace (secretly negotiated from the first) 
with Charles VIII. for £149,000, and returned home enriched 
at the expense of friend and foe. He punished the nobles 
with fines on every pretext, and his lawyers revived musty 
edicts and forgotten tenures in order to fill the royal coffers 
under the guise of law. 

* His favorite minister, Morton, devised a dilemma known as "Morton's fork," 
since a rich man was sure to be caught on one tine or the other. A frugal person 
was asked for money because he must have saved much, and an extravagant one, be- 
cause he had much to spend. 



150 THE SIXTEENTH CEi^TURY. [1502. 

Henry's tyranny, howeyer, reached only the great. He 
gave the people rest He favored the middle classes, and, 
by permitting the poorer nobles to sell their lands regard- 
less of the '^entail," enabled prosperous merchants to buy 
estates. He also encouraged commerce, and under his 
patronage the Cabots explored the coast of America. 

In 1502 Henry's daughter Margaret was married to James 
IV. of Scotland. This wedding of the rose and the thistle 
paved the way to the union of the two kingdoms under 
the Stuarts, a century later. 

2. Henry VIII. (1509-'47) at eighteen succeeded to the 
throne, and his father's wealth. For the first time since 
Eichard II., the king had a clear title to the crown. Gay, 
generous, handsome, witty, intelligent, fond of sport, and 
skillful in arms, Bluff King Hal, as he was affectionately' 
called, was long the most popular in English history. 

Foreign Relations. — While Henry was winning the Battle 
of the Spurs (p. 126), Scotland as usual sided with France. 
James IV., though Henry's brother-in-law, invaded England. 
But, on Flodden Field (1513), he was slain with the flower of 
the Scots. Soon England came, as we have seen, to hold 
the balance of power between Charles V. and Francis I. 
Lest either should grow too strong, Henry always took the 
part of the one who happened at the time to be the weaker. 
Such wars brought no good to any one. 

Thomas Wolsey, who, from a priest and the son of a 
butcher, rose to be Archbishop of York, Lord Chancellor of 
England, Cardinal, and Papal Legate, was Henry's minister. 
He lived with almost royal splendor. His household com- 
prised 500 nobles, and he was attended everywhere by a train 
of the first barons of the land. The direction of foreign 
and domestic affairs rested with him. As Chancellor, he 
administered justice ; as legate, he controlled the Church. 



1533.] 



ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS. 



151 



Catharine's Divorce. — For nearly twenty years, Henry 
lived happily with his wife, Catharine of Aragon, aunt of 
Charles V. But of their children, Mary, a sickly girl, alone 
survived. Should Henry leave no son, the succession to the 
throne would be 
imperilled, as no 
woman had yet 
reigned in Eng- 
land. The re- 
membrance of the 
recent civil war 
emphasized this 
dread. Henry be- 
gan to have a 
superstitious fear 
lest the -death of 
his children were 
a judgment npon 
him for marrying 
his brother's wid- 
ow. His scruples 
were quickened, 
perhaps even sug- 
gested, by the 
charms of Anne Boleyn, a beautiful maid of honor. Henry 
accordingly applied to Pope Clement VII. for a divorce. 
The pope, not willing to offend Henry, and not daring to 
offend Charles, hesitated. So the affair dragged on for years. 
The universities and learned men at home and abroad 
were consulted. At last, Henry privately -married Anne. 
Thomas Cranmer,* who had been appointed Archbishop of 

* It is curious that the four most remarkable men of Henry's administration— 
Wolsey, Cranmer, Cromwell, and More, all had the same given name, Thomas, and 
all were executed, except VTolsey, who escaped the scaffold only by death. 




PORTRAITS OF HENRY VIII. AND CARDINAL WOLSEY, 



152 THE SIXTEEHTH CEKTUKY. [1533. 

Canterbury on account of his zeal in the king's cause, then 
pronounced Catharine's marriage illegal (1533). The for- 
saken wife died three years later. But more than the fate of 
queen or maid of honor was concerned in this royal whim. 

Wolsey's Fall (1530). — Wolsey, as legate, had hesitated to 
declare a divorce without the papal sanction. Henry, brook- 
ing no opposition, determined on his minister's disgrace. 
Stripped of place and power, the old man was banished 
from the court. Soon after, he was arrested for treason ; 
while on his way to prison he died, broken-hearted at his 
fall.* 

Breach with Rome. — Henry had no sympathy with the 
Eeformation. Indeed, he had written a book against 
Luther's doctrines, for which he received, as a reward from 
the grateful pope, the title of the Defender of the Faith. 
But Cromwell, who, after Wolsey's fall, became Henry's chief 
minister, advised the king, instead of troubling himself about 
the papal decision, to deny the pope's supremacy. Link by 
link, the chain that had so long bound England to Eome 
was broken. Parhament declared Anne's marriage legal; 
forbade appeals or payments to the pope ; and acknowledged 
the king as supreme head of the English Church, f All who 
refused to take the Oath of Supremacy were proclaimed 
guilty of high treason. J; The monasteries were suppressed, 

* His last words, as given almost literally by Shakspere, have become famous : 
" O, Cromwell, Cromwell, 
Had I but served my God with half the zeal 
I served my king. He would not in my age 

Have left me naked to mine enemies."— Henry VIII., Act III.^ Scene 2. 
t This position gave Henry an almost sacred character. Parliament directed that, 
within certain limits, his proclamations should have the force of law; and, at the 
simple mention of his name, that body rose and bowed to his vacant throne. 

X The heads of the noblest in England now rolled upon the scaffold. Sir Thomas 
More, Lord Chancellor for a time after Wolsey's fall, was sentenced to death. As 
he ascended the stairs to his execution, he remarked to his attendant, witflPa touch 
of his old humor, " See me safe up ; as for my coming down, T can shift for myself." 
When he laid his head upon the block, he begged a moment's delay in order to move 
aside his beard, saying, " Pity that should be cut that has not committed treason." 



1539.] 



EKGLAKD UNDER THE TUDORS. 



153 



and their vast estates confiscated. A part of their revenues 
was spent in founding schools, but the larger share was 
lavished upon the king's favorites. 




THE CHAINED BIBLE, 
(Scene in a Churcli Porch, Sixteentli Century.) 



Church Reform. — A copy of the Bible, as translated by 
Tyndale and revised by Coverdale, was ordered to be chained 
to a pillar or desk in every church. Crowds of the common 
people flocked around, to hear its truths read to them in 
their mother-tongue. Henry drew up the famous Six Arti- 
cles of religion for the Church of England.* But, with his 
usual fickleness, he afterward published in succession two 
books, each giving to the nation a different creed, and 

* Fox wittily termed this statute, " The whip with six strings." 



154 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. [1536. 

finally restricted to merchants and gentlemen the royal per- 
mission to read the Bible. Both Protestants and Catholics 
were persecuted with great impartiality ; the former for 
rejecting Henry's doctrines, and the latter for denying his 
supremacy. 

Henry^s Six Wives.— Anne Boleyn wore her coveted 
crown only three years. A charge of unfaithfulness brought 
her to the scaffold within less than five months from the 
death of the discarded Catharine (1536). The very day after 
Anne's execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, a maid of 
honor whose pretty face had caught his changeful fancy; 
she died the following year. The fourth wife was Anne of 
Cleves, a Protestant princess. Her plain looks disappointed 
the king, who had married her by proxy, and he soon 
obtained a divorce by act of Parliament. Cromwell had 
arranged this match, and the result cost him his head. 
Henry next married Catharine Howard, but her bad con- 
duct was punished by death. The last of the series was 
Catharhie Parr, a widow, who, to the surprise of all, man- 
aged to keep her head upon her shouldei^s until the king 
died in 1547. 

3. Edward VI. (1547-53), son of Jane Seymour, ascended 
the throne in his tenth year. The Duke of Somerset became 
regent. 

The Reformation, which began in Henry's time by the sev- 
erance from Rome, now proceeded apace. Archbishop Cran- 
mer, seconded by Bishops Ridley and Latimer, was foremost 
in shaping the changes in ceremony and doctrine that gave 
the English church a Protestant form. The Latin mass was 
abolished. The pictures and statues in the churches were 
destroyed. The inimitable Book of Common Prayer was 
compiled, and the faith of the English Protestants summed 
up in the Forty-two (now Thirty-nine) Articles of Religion. 



1552.] EKGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS. 155 

The Duke of Northumberland, having brought Somerset 
to the scaffold, for a time ruled England. He persuaded 
Edward to set aside his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, 
and leave the crown to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, wife of 
Lord Dudley — Northumberland's son. Soon after, the gen- 
tle and studious Edward died. 

4. Mary (1553-'8), however, was the people's choice, and 
she became the first queen-regnant of England. Lady Jane, 
a charming girl of sixteen, who found her greatest delight in 
reading Plato in the window-corner of a quiet library, though 
proclaimed by her father against her wish, was sent to the 
Tower ; a year afterward, on the rising of her friends, she 
and her husband were beheaded. As an ardent Catholic, 
Mary sought to reconcile England to the pope. The laws 
favoring the Protestants were repealed, and nearly three 
hundred persons burned as heretics. Among these were 
Cranmer, Latimer, and Eidley. The queen was married to 
her cousin, afterward Philip II. of Spain.- The Spanish alli- 
ance was hateful to the English ; while Philip soon tired of 
his haggard, sickly wife, whom he had chosen merely to 
gratify his father. She, however, idolized her husband, and, 
to please him, joined in the war against France. As the 
result she lost Calais. The humbled queen died soon after, 
declaring that the name of this stronghold would be found 
written on her heart. 

5. Elizabeth (1558-1603), ^'Good Queen Bess," daughter 
of Anne Boleyn, next ascended the throne. Frank, jovial, 
and hearty, she won and kept the love of her people.* Self- 
poised, courageous, and determined, like all the Tudors, she 
thoroughly understood the temper of the nation ; knew when 
to command and when to yield ; and was more than a match 

* A Puritan, named Stubbe, whose right hand was struck off by her order, waved 
his hat in liis left while he cried, "Long live Queen Elizabeth! " 



156 



I'HE SiXTilEHl'H CEKTUEY. 



[1558. 



for any politician 
at home or abroad. 
She brought about 
her wise statesmen 
like William Cecil 
(Lord Burleigh) 
and Francis Wal- 
singham. She re- 
stored the Protest- 
ant religion, and 
gave the Church 
of England its 
present form. She 
declined marriage 
to Philip II., say- 
ing that she was 
wedded to her 
realm, and would 
never bring in a 
foreign master. 
Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity were passed by her first 
Parliament. The former act compelled every clergyman and 
office-holder to take an oath acknowledging Elizabeth as head 
of the Church of England, and to abjure every foreign prince 
and prelate; the latter forbade attendance upon the ministry 
of any clergyman except of the established religion, and 
inflicted a fine on all who did not go to service. Both the 
Catholics and the Puritans * opposed these measures, but for 
some years met with the Church of England for worship. 

* These were extreme Protestants who desired a purer form of worship than the 
one adopted for the Church of England, i. e., one further removed from that of Kome, 
Many of the ceremonies retained by Elizabeth, such as the surplice, sign of the cross 
in baptism, etc., gave them great offence. As they refused to accept the Act of Uni- 
formity they were known as Nonconformists, and when they afterward came to form 
separate congregations, as Separatists and Independents, (Hist. U. S., p. 53.) 




PORTRAITS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH AND MARY QUEEN OF 
SCOTS. 



1556,15:0.] EKGLAKD UNDER THE TUDORS. 151' 

Afterward, they began to withdraw and each to liold its own 
services in private houses. The Act of Uniformity was, how^ 
ever, rigidly enforced. Many Catholics were executed. The 
Puritans were punished by fine, imprisonment, and exile, but 
their dauntless love of liberty and firm resistance to royal 
authority gave the party great strength. 

Mary Queen of Scots, grandniece of Henry VIII., was 
the next heir to the English throne. At the French court 
she had. assumed the title of queen of England; and the 
Catholics, considering the marriage with Anne Boleyn void, 
looked upon her as their legitimate sovereign. After the 
death of Francis 11. she returned to Scotland. The Refor- 
mation, under the preaching of John Knox, had there made 
great progress. Mary's Catholicism aroused the hostility of 
her Protestant subjects, and her amusements shocked the 
rigid Scotch reformers as much as their austerity displeased 
the gay and fascinating queen. She was soon married to her 
cousin Lord Darnley. His weakness and vice quickly for- 
feited her love. One day, with some of his companions, he 
dragged her secretary, Rizzio, from her supper-table, and 
murdered him almost at her feet. Mary never forgave this 
brutal crime. A few months later, the lonely house in which 
Darnley was lying sick was blown up, and he was killed. 
Mary's marriage, soon after, with the Earl of Both well, the 
suspected murderer, aroused deep indignation. She was 
forced to resign the crown to her infant son, James YI. 
Finally, she fled to England, where Elizabeth threw her into 
prison. For over eighteen years the beautiful captive was 
the center of innumerable conspiracies. The discovery of a 
plot to assassinate Elizabeth and put her rival on the throne, 
brought Mary to the block (1587).* 

* A scaffold covered with black cloth was built In the hall of Fotherlngay Castle. 
In the gray light of a February morning, Mary appeared attired in black, her radiant 



158 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 



[158S. 



Tlie Invincible Armada. — As Elizabeth aided the Protes- 
tants in the Netherlands,* and her daring cruisers greatly 

annoyed the Spanish commerce, 
Philip resolved to conquer Eng- 
land. For three years, Spain 
rang with the din of preparation. 
The danger united England, 
and Catholics and Protestants 
alike rallied around their queen. 
The command of the fleet was 
given to Lord Howard — a Catho- 
lic nobleman — while under him 
served Drake, Hawkins, and 
Frobisher. One day in July, 
1588, the Armada was descried 
off Plymouth, one hundred and 
forty ships sailing in a crescent 
form, seven miles in length. 
Beacons flashed the alarm from 
every hill along the coast, and' 
the English ships hurried to 
the attack. Light, swift, and 
manned by the boldest seamen, they hung on the rear of the 
advancing squadron ; poured shot into the unwieldy, slow- 
sailing, Spanish galleons ; clustered like angry wasps about 




PHILIP II. OF SPAIN. 



beauty diramecl by her Xaxx^ imprisonment, but her courage unshaken. Throwing off 
her outer robe, beneath which was a crimson dress, she stood forth against the black 
background blood-red from head to foot. With two blows the executioner did hia 
work, and Mary's stormy life was ended. Her right to the English crown she 
bequeathed to Philip, setting aside her son as a Protestant. 

* Elizabeth's favorite, the worthless Earl of Leicester, conducted an expedition 
to Holland (p. 143), but it effected nothing. The engagement before Zutphen, how- 
ever, is famous for the death of Philip Sidney—" the Flower of Chivalrie."' In his 
dying agony, he begged for a drink of water. Just as he lifted the cup to his lips, he 
caught the wistful glance of a wounded soldier near by, and exclaimed, " Give it to 
him. His need is greater than mine." 



1588.] EN"GLAKD UNDER THE TUDORS. 159 

their big antagonists; and, darting to and fro, prolonged 
the fight, off and on, for a week. The Spaniards then took 
refuge in the roads of Calais. Here the Duke of Parma was 
to join them with seventeen thousand veterans ; but, in the 
dead of night, Howard sent into the port blazing fire-ships, 
and the Spaniards, panic-struck, stood to sea. With daylight, 
the English started in keen pursuit. The Spanish admiral, 
thinking no longer of victory but only of escape, attempted 
to return home by sailing around Scotland. But fearful 
storms arose. Ship after ship, crippled in spar and hull, 
went down before the fury of the northern blasts. Scarcely 
one-third of the fleet escaped to tell the fearful tale of the 
loss of the Spanish Armada. 

The effect of this victory was to make England Mistress of 
the Sea, to ensure the independence of Holland, to encourage 
the Huguenots in France, and to weaken Spanish influence 
in European aflairs. From this shipwreck dates the decay 
of Spain. 

Commerce was encouraged by Elizabeth, and her reign was 
an era of maritime adventure. The old Viking spirit blazed 
forth anew. English sailors— many of whom were, by turns, 
explorers, pirates, and Protestant knight-errants — traversed 
every sea. Frobisher, daring Arctic icebergs, sought the 
northwest passage. Drake sailed round the world, capturing 
en route many a galleon laden with the gold and silver of the 
new world. Hawkins traced the coast of Guinea. Sir 
"Walter Raleigh attempted to plant a colony in Virginia, so 
named, by this courtiers tact, after the Virgin Queen. In 
1600 the East India Company was formed, and from this 
sprung the English empire in India. 

ElhdbetVs Favorites cast a gleam of romance over her 
reign. Notwithstanding her real strength and ability, she 
was capricious, jealous, petulant, deceitful, and vain as any 



160 



tHE SIXTEENTH CEKTURY, 



Cl586. 



coquette. With waning beauty, she became the greedier 
of compliments. Her youthful courtiers, humoring this 
weakness, would, while approaching the throne, shade 
their eyes with their hands, as if dazzled by her radiance. 
Eobert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and son of Northumber- 
land (p. 155), was her earhest favorite.* After Leicester's 

death, the Earl of Essex 
succeeded to the royal 
regard. Once, during a 
heated discussion, Essex 
turned his back upon 
Elizabeth, whereupon 
she boxed his ears. The 
favorite, forgetting his 
position, laid his hand 
upon his sword. But 
the queen forgave the 
insult, and sent him to 
Ireland, then in revolt. 
Essex met with little suc- 
cess, and, against Eliza- 
beth's orders, returned, 
and rushed into her 
presence unannounced. 
Though forgiven again, he was restive under the restrictions 
imposed, and made a wild attempt to raise a revolt in Lon- 
don. Eor this he was tried and beheaded. Even at the 
last, his life would have been spared, if Elizabeth had 
received a ring which, in a moment of tenderness, she had 
given him to send her whenever he needed her help. ' 




TOMB OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 



* Of the magnificent entertainment given to Elizabeth in his castle ; of the story 
of the ill-fated Amy Rohsart ; and of the queen's infatuation with this arrogant, vicious 
man, Scott has told in his inimitable tale of Kenil worth. 



1603.] THE CIVILIZATION. 161 

Two years later, the Countess of Nottingham on her death- 
bed revealed the secret. Essex had intrusted her with the 
ring, but she withlield it from the queen. Elizabeth in her 
rage shook the expiring woman, exclaiming, "God may for- 
give you, but I never can." From this time, the queen, 
sighing, weeping, and refusing food and medicine, rapidly 
declined to her death (1603). 

THE CIVILIZATION. 

The Progress of Civilization during the first modern century 
was rapid. Tlie revival of learning that swept over Europe heralding 
the dawn of the new era, the outburst of maritime adventure that fol- 
lowed the discovery of America, the sj)read of the "New Learning" 
by means of books, schools, and travel, and the establishment of strong, 
centralized governments, — all produced striking results. 

Comnieree. — The wonderful development of commerce we have 
already traced in connection with the history of Spain, Portugal, Hol- 
land, England, etc. The colonies of these nations now formed a promi- 
nent part of their wealth. The navies of Europe were already formid- 
able. Sovereign and people alike saw, in foreign trade and in distant 
discoveries and conquests, new sources of gain and glory. 

Art. — Italy had now become the instructress of the nations. She 
gave to the world Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Correggio, Michael 
Angelo, Titian, Paul Veronese, Andrea del Sarto, Gruido Reni, Ben- 
venuto Cellini, — masters of art, whose works have been the models for 
all succeeding ages. Painting, sculpture, and architecture felt the 
magic touch of their genius. The intercourse with Italy caused by the 
Italian wars did much to naturalize in France that love of art for which 
she has since been so renowned. Francis I. brought home with him 
sculptors and painters, and a new style of architecture — known as the 
French Renaissance, arose. 

Literature. — England bore the choicest fruit of the Revival of 
Learning. All the Tudors, except Henry VII., were scholars. Henry 
VIII. spoke four languages ; and Ehzabeth, after she became queen, 
"read more Greek in a day," as her tutor, old Roger Ascham, used to 
say, "than many a clergyman read of Latin in a week." During the 
brilliant era following the defeat of the Armada, the English language 
took on its modern form. Poetry, that had been silent since the days 
of Chaucer, broke forth anew. Never did there shine a more splendid 
galaxy of writers than when, toward the end of the sixteenth century, 



162 



THE SIXTEENTH OE^STTUEY. 




THE GLORY OF THE ELIZABETHAN AGE. 

there were in London, Shakspere, Bacon, Spenser, Chapman, Drayton, 
Kaleigh, Ben Jonson, Marlowe, and Sir Philip Sidney, Shakspere per- 
fecteii the drama ; Bacon developed a new philosophy ; Hooker shaped 
the strength of prose, and Spenser, the harmony of poetry. 

Modern Science already began to manifest glimpses of the new 
methods of thought. The fullness of its time was not to come until 
our own day. Copernicus taught that the sun is the center of the solar 
system. Vesalius, by means of dissection, laid the foundation of 
anatomy. Galileo, in the cathedral at Pisa, caught the secret of the 
pendulum. Kepler was now watching the planets. Gilbert, Eliza- 
beth's physician, was making a few electrical experiments. Gesner 
and Csesalpinus were finding out how to, classify animals and plants. 
And Palissy, the potter, declared his belief that fossil shells were once 
real shells. 



"MERRIE ENGLANDE" UNDER "GOOD QUEEN BESS." 



Home-Life. — Mansions.— The gloomy walls and serried battle- 
ments of the feudal fortress now gave place to the pomp and grace of 
the Elizabethan hall. A mixed and florid architecture, the transition 
from Gothic to Classical, marked the dawn of the Renaissance. Tall, 
moulded and twisted chimneys, grouped in stacks ; crocketed and gilded 
turrets ; fanciful weather-vanes ; gabled and fretted fronts ; great oriel 



THE CIVILIZATION". 163 

windows ; and the stately terraces and broad flights of steps wliicli led 
to a formal g-arden, — marked the exterior of an Elizabethan mansion. 
In the interior, were spacious apartments ajjproached by grand stair- 
cases ; immense mullioned and transomed windows ; huge carved oak or 
marble chimney-pieces, reaching up to gilded and heavily ornamented 
ceilings ; and wainscoted walls, covered with pictorial tapestries so 
loosely hunor as to famish a favorite hiding-place. Chimneys and large 
glass windows were the especial " modern improvements." The houses, 
which three canturies before were lighted only by loop-holes, now 
reveled in a broad glare of sunlight ; and the newly found " chimney- 
corner " brought increased domestic pleasure. Manor-houses were built 
in the form of the letter E (in honor of the Queen's initial), having two 
projecting wings, and a porch in the middle. A flower-garden was 
essential, and a surrounding moat was still common. Town-houses, 
constructed of an oak frame filled in with brick or with lath-and- 
plaster, had each successive story projecting over the next lower; so 
that in the narrow streets the inmates on the upper floor could almost 
shake hands with their neighbors across the way. 

Furniture, even in noble mansions, was still rude and defective ; 
and though the lofty halls and banqueting-rooms were hung with costly 
arras and glittered with plate, — to possess less than a value of £100 in 
silver plate being a confession of poverty — the rooms in daily use were 
often bare enough. Henry VlII's bed-chamber contained only the bed, 
two Flemish court-cupboards, a joined stool, a steel mirror, and the 
andirons, firepan, tongs, and fire-forks belonging to the hearth. It was 
an age of ornamental ironwork, and the 16th-century hearth and house- 
hold utensils were models of elegant design. The chief furniture of a 
mansion consisted of grotesquely carved dressers or cupboards ; round, 
folding tables ; a few chests and presses ; sometimes a household clock 
— which was, as yet, a rarity; a day-bed or sofa — considered an excess 
of luxury; carpets for couches and floors; stifl', high-backed chairs; and 
some " forms," or benches, with movable cushions. The bed was still 
the choicest piece of furniture. It was canopied and festooned like a 
throne; the mattress was of the softest down ; the sheets were Holland 
linen ; and over the blankets was laid a coverlet embroidered in silk and 
gold with the arms of its owner. There were often several of these cum- 
bersome four-posters in one chamber. A portable bed was carried about 
in a leathern case, whenever the lord traveled ; for he was no longer 
content, like his ancestors, with the floor or a hard bench. 

The poorer classes of Elizabeth's time had also improved in condi- 
tion. Many still lived in hovels made of clay-plastered wattles, hav- 
ing a hole in the roof for chimney, and a clay floor strewed with rushes, 
*' under which," said Erasmus, " lies unmolested an ancient collection 
of beer, grease, fragments, bones, and everything nasty." These were 
the people whose uncleanly habits fed. the terrible plagues that period- 



164 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 



ically raged in England. But houses of brick and stone as well as of 
oak were now abundant among tbe yeomanry. The wooden ladle and 
trencher had already given way to the pewter spoon and platter ; and 
the feather bed and pillow were fast displacing the sack of straw and 
the log bolster. Sea-coal (mineral coal) began to be used in the better 
houses, as the destruction of forests had reduced the supply of firewood. 
The dirt and sulphurous odor of the coal prejudiced many against its 
use, and it was forbidden to be burnt in London during the sitting of 
Parliament, lest the health of the country members should suffer. 




A GROUP OF COURTIERS IN THE TIME OF ELIZABETH. 



Dress. — The fashionable man now wore a large starched ruff ; a pad- 
ded, long-waisted doublet; "trunk-hose" distended with wool, hair, 
bran, or feathers, — a fashion dating from Henry VIII, whose flattering 
courtiers stuffed their clothes as the king grew fat ; richly ornamented 
nether stocks, confined with jeweled and embroidered garters ; gemmed 
and rosetted shoes; and, dangling at dangerous angles over all, a long 
Toledo blade. The courtiers glistened with precious stones, and even 
the immortal Shakspere wore rings in his ears ! The ladies appeared 
in caps, hats, and hoods of every shape, one of the prettiest being that 
now known as the Mary Queen of Scots cap The hair was dyed, curled, 
frizzed and crimped, in a variety of forms and colors. Elizabeth, who, 
it is said, had eighty wigs, was seen sometimes in black hair, sometimes 
in red : the Queen of Scots wore successively black, yellow, and auburn 
hair. But yellow was most in favor ; and many a little street blonde was 
decoyed aside and shorn of her locks, to furnish a periwig for some fine 
-lady. The linen ruff, worn in triple folds about the neck, was of " pre- 



THE CIVILIZATIOIf. 165 

postcrous amplitude and terrible stiffness."* The long, ri<^id bodice, 
descending- almost to the knees, was crossed and recrossed with lacers ; 
and about and below it stretched the farthingale, standing out like a 
large balloon. Knitted and clocked black-silk stockinets — a new im- 
portation from France — were worn with high-heeled shoes, or with 
white, green, or yellow slippers. Perfumed and embroidered gloves ; 
a gold-handled fan, finished with ostrich or peacock feathers ; a small 
looking-glass hanging from the girdle ; a black-velvet mask ; and long 
loops of pearls about the neck, — completed the belle's costume. 

At Table, all wore their hats, as they did also in church or at the 
theatre. The noon dinner was the formal meal of the day, and was 
characterized by stately decorum. It was " served to the Virgin Queen 
as if it were an act of worship, amid kneeling pages, guards, and ladies, 
and to the sound of trumpets and kettledrums." The nobles followed 
the royal example and kept up princely style. The old ceremonious 
custom of washing hands was still observed ; perfumed water was used, 
and the ewer, basin, and hand-towel were ostentatiously employed. The 
guests were ushered into the hall, and seated at the long table accord- 
ing to their rank ; the conspicuous salt-cellar — an article which super- 
stition decreed should always be the first one placed on the table — still 
separated the honored from the inferior guests. The favorite dishes 
were a boar's head wreathed with rosemary, and sucking-pigs which 
had been fed on dates and muscadine. Fruit-jellies and preserves were 
delicacies recently introduced. Etiquette pervaded everything, even to 
the important display of plate on the dresser : thus, a prince of royal 
blood had five steps or shelves to his cupboard; a duke, four; a lesser 
noble, three ; a knight-banneret, two ; and a simple gentleman, one. 
Forks were still unknown, but they were brought from Italy early in 
the 17th century. Bread and meats were presented on the point of a 
knife, the food being conveyed to the mouth by the left hand. After 
dinner, the guests retired to the withdrawing-room, or to the garden- 
house, for the banquet. Here choice wines, pastry, and sweetmeats 
were served, and a "marchpane" (a little sugar-and-almond castle) 
was merrily battered to pieces with sugar plums. Music, mummery, 
and masquerading enlivened the feast. 

With common people, ale, spiced and prepared in various forms, was 
the popular drink ; and the ale-houses of the day, which were frequented 
too often by women, were centers of vice and dissipation. Tea and coffee 
were yet unknown, and were not introduced till the next century.f 

* Starch was then new in England, and is mentioned by Philip Stuhhe (p. 155) 
as " the devil's liquor with which the women smeare and starche their neckerchiefs," 
The inventress of this much offending yellow-starch finally perished on the scaffold, 
wearing one of her own stiff collars, after which they went out of fashion, 

t The Portuguese imported some tea from China in the 16th century, but it was 
over sisty years after the death of Elizabeth before the munificent gift of two pounds 



166 



THE SIXTEENTH CEKTUEY. 



Domestic Manners were stern and formal. Sons, even in mature 
life, stood silent and uncovered in their father's presence, and daugh- 
ters knelt on a cushion until their mother had retired. The yard-long 
fan-handles served for whipping rods, and discipline was enforced so 
promptly and severely that grown-up men and women often trembled 
at the sight of their parents. Lady Jane Grey confided to Roger 
Ascham that her parents used " so sharply to taunt her, and to give her 
such pinches, nips and lobs " at the slightest offence, that she was in con- 
stant terror before them. At school, the same principles prevailed, and 
the 16tli century school-boy could well appreciate the classically- 
recorded woes of the little Ancient Roman. (Anc. Peo., p. 280.) 

Street Life.— The Elizabethan City-Madam beguiled the hours of 
her husband's absence at the mart, or exchange, by sitting with her 
daughters outside the street door, under the successive projections of 
her tall, half-timber house, and gazing upon the sights of the dirty, nar- 
row, crooked, unpaved, London highway. Here, while they regaled 
themselves with sweetmeats, or smoked the newly- imported Indian 

weed, they watched the full- 
toileted gallant in his morn- 
ing lounge toward St. Paul's 
churchyard and the neigh- 
boring book-stalls, or his 
after-dinner stroll toward the 
Blackfriars Theatre, where, 
at three o'clock or at the 
floating of the play-house 
flag, was to be acted the 
newest comedy of a rising 
young play- writer,— one Wil- 
liam Shakspere. Occasion- 
ally, a roystering party of 
roughs, armed with wooden 
spears and shields, would be 
seen hurrying to the Thames 
for a boat-joust, bawling the 
while to one another their braggart threats of a good wetting in the 
coming clash of boats ; or one of the new-fashioned, carved, canopied, 
and curtained wagons, called coaches, would go jolting along, having 
neither springs nor windows, but with wide-open sides which offered 
unobstructed view of the painted and bewigged court-ladies who filled 
it ; or smiles, and bows, and the throwing ot kisses, would mark the 




SHAKSPERE S GLOBE THEATRE. 



of tea, from the English East India Company to Catharine, queen of Charles II., 
heralded in England a new national beverage. Tea was soon afterwards sold at frorc) 
eix to ten guineas per pound. The first cofFee-hoiise was opened in \%% 



THE CIVILIZATION. 



167 



passing of a friend with her retinue of flat-capped, blue-gowned, white 
stockinged 'prentices — a comparatively new class, whose street clubs 
were destined thenceforth to figure in nearly every London riot, and 
who were finally to be the conquerors at Marston Moor and Naseby ; or 
a group of high-born ladies, out for a frolic, would cross the distant 
bridge on their way to South wark bear-garden, where for threepence 
they could enjoy the roars and flounderings of a chained and blinded 
bear worried by English bull-dogs. Now, her ears caught the sound of 
angry voices from the 

neighboring ale-house, ^^- , ""-a^j ^' ///' 

where a party of wom- 
en were drinking and 
gambling ; and now, 
a poor old withered 
dame rushed swiftly 
by, hotly pursued by a 
shouting crowd, armed 
with long pins to prick 
" the witch " and see 
if blood would follow, 
or grasping at her hair 
to tear out a handful 
to burn for a counter- 
charm. Anon, a poor 

fellow, with the blood flowing from his freshly-cropped ears, came stag- 
gering home from a public flogging, — it was his second punishment 
for vagrancy, and lucky he to escape being branded with a V, and sold 
as a slave to his informer. There was, indeed, no end of "rogues, 
vagabonds and sturdy beggars," * singly or in crowds, who passed and 
repassed from morning till night ; and many a bloody brawl, robbery, 
and even murder, this 16th-century Londoner could witness from her 
own street-door. At night, the narrow city -lanes swarmed with thieves, 
who skilfully dodged the rays of the flaring cresset borne by the 
marching watch. Fortunately, early hours were fashionable, and nine 
o'clock saw the bulk of society-folk within their own homes. 

Along the wretche'd country roads, most travel was on horseback, the 
ladies riding on a pillion behind a servant. There was no regular stage 
communication. On the great road to Scotland were some royal post 
stations, but ordinary letters were sent by chance merchants or by a 
special courier. 

Holiday-Life. — Sunday was the great day for all diversions, from 




THE RACK. 

(A Mode of Punishment in tlie Sixteentli Century.) 



* It is ciirious to find included under this head the scholars of Oxford and Cam- 
bridge Universities, who were expressly " forbidden to beg except they had the 
authority of the chancellor." (Compare A QQvmm Traveling Student, p. 170.) 



168 



THE SIXTEENTH CENTUBY. 




cock-figliting to theatre-go- 
ing. The numerous cliurcli 
festivals gave every working- 
man a round of relaxation. 
Christmas-time, especially, 
was one continued saturnalia, 
from All-hallow eve to the 
Feast of the Purification. 
What mummerings and mas- 
queradings, what pipings and 
drumraings, what jingling of 
bells and shouting of songs, 
what flaunting of plumes 
and mad whirling of ker- 
chiefs around all England ! 
Through every borough and 
village, a motley, grotesque- 
ly-masked troop of revelers, 
armed with bells, drums, and 
squeaking fifes, and mounted 
on hobby-horses or great pasteboard dragons, followed its chosen 
"Lord of Misrule " wherever his riotous humor led; even into the 
churches, where the service was abruptly dropped, and the congrega- 
tion clambered upon the high-backed seats, to see the wild pranks of 
the licensed merry-crew ; even into the churchyards, where, among the 
clustering graves, they broached and drank barrels of strong, coarse ale. 
There was gentler but no less hearty cheer by the home firesides, 
where the huge yule-log on Christmas eve, and the rosemary- garnished 
boar's head at Christmas dinner, were each brought in with joyous 
ceremonies. Servants and children joined in the season's universal 
license ; every house resounded with romping games, and every street 
re-echoed Christmas carols. 

And who could resist May-day ? The tall, garlanded May-pole, drawn 
in by flower-wreathed oxen ; the jollity of the ceaseless dance about its 
fluttering ribands; the by-play of Robin Hood and Friar Tuck ; the 
jingling Morris-dancers ; the trippings of the milk-maids with their 
crowns of silver tankards ; and the ubiquitous, rollicking hobby-horse 
and dragon, — made the live-long day one burst of happy frolic. 



ONDON WATCHMEN. 
(Sixteenth Century.) 



SCENES IN GERMAN LIFE. 



Scene I. — The Home of the Land-junher, or country knight, is a 
gloomy, dirty, and comfortless castle. Placed on a barren height, ex- 
posed to winter blast and summer sun ; destitute of pure water, though 



THE CIVILIZ ATIOK. 1G9 

surroiiuJed by stagnant clitclies ; liglited by dim panes in tiny windows ; 
crowded with inmates — the junker's younger brothers and cousins, 
with their families, numberless servants, men-at-arms, and laborers ; 
pestered in summer by noisome smells and insect hordes, that rise from 
steaming pools and filth-heaps in the foul courtyard ; cold and dreary 
in winter, despite the huge tiled stoves fed by forest logs so broad that 
beds are sometimes made upon them ; scantily furnished, but always 
well stocked with weapons kept bright by constant use against the 
raids of roving marauders and quarrelsome neighbors, — the junker's 
dwelling is still more a fortress than a home. It has its prisons, and 
they are not unused. In this one, perhaps, pines and frets a burgher- 
merchant, waylaid and robbed upon the road and now held for his 
ransom, who wearily eats bis dole of black bread while the lady of the 
castle, singino: cheerfully, makes coats and mantles of the fine cloth 
stolen from his pack ; in that one, sulks a peasant, sore with the stripes 
received for crossing the path of the master's chase, and in imagination 
sharpening his next arrow for the master's heart. Jostling one another 
over the open kitchen fire, the servants of the various households push, 
and crowd, and wrangle; while from the courtyard comes the sound of 
playing children, barking dogs and cackling geese. 

The junker's frau is general housekeeper, head-cook, and family 
doctor ; and she has learned by frequent experience how to manage 
a tipsy husband and his rude guests, who amuse themselves in her 
presence by making coarse jokes and by blackening the faces of her 
domestics. She is proud of her family brocades and gold heirlooms, 
and looks wrathfully on the costly furs, velvets, and pearls worn without 
right — as she thinks — by the upstart wives of rich city burgesses. 

The junker's sons grow up with horses, dogs, and servants. They study 
a little Latin at the village school, watch the poultry for their mother, 
and scour the woods for wild pears and mushrooms to be dried for 
winter use. Occasionally, a boy goes through the course at the 
university ; but it is oftener the son of a shoemaker or a village 
pastor, than of a nobleman, who rises to distinction. Now and then, a 
strolling ballad-singer delights the junker's ear with a choice bit of 
scandal that he has been hired to propagate far and wide in satirical 
verse : or an itinerant pedlar brings the little irregularly-published 
news-sheet, with its startling accounts of maidens possessed with 
demons, the latest astrological prediction, and the strange doings of 
Dr. Martin Luther. Otherwise, the master hunts, quarrels, feasts, and 
carouses. Ruined estates, heavy debts, and prolonged lawsuits dis- 
turb his few sober hours. He strives to bolster up his fortunes by 
building toll-bridges (even where there is no river), and by keeping 
such wretched roads that the traveling merchant's wagons unavoidably 
upset, when he, as lord of the manor, claims the scattered goods. 



170 THE SIXTEENTH CEKTUEf. 

Scene II. — The Home of the Rich Patrician is luxurious. He is tlie 
money -owner of the realm. A merchant-prince, he traffics with Italy 
and the Levant, buys a whole year's harvest from the King of Portugal, 
has invoices from both the Indies, and takes personal journeys to Cal- 
cutta. He is statesman, soldier, and art-patron. For him are painted 
Albert Diirer's most elaborate pictures, and in his valuable library are 
found the choicest books, fresh from the new art of printing. He 
educates his sons in Italy, and inspires his daughters with a love for 
learning. He shapes the German policy of imperial cities, and sup- 
plies emperor and princes with gold from his strong-banded coffers. 
When, in 1575, Herr Marcus Fugger entertains at dinner a wandering 
Silesian prince, that potentate's chamberlain is bewildered by the costly 
display, which he thus notes down in his journal ; " Such a banquet I 
never beheld. The repast was spread in a hall with more gold than 
color ; the marble floor was smooth as ice ; the sideboard, placed the 
whole length of the hall, was set out with drinking vessels and rare 
Venetian glasses ; there was the value of more than a ton of gold. 
Herr Fugger gave to His Princely Highness for a drinking-cup an 
artistically -formed ship of the most beautiful Venetian glass. He took 
his Princely Highness through the prodigious great house to a turret, 
where he showed him a treasure of chains, jewels, and precious stones, 
besides curious coins, and pieces of gold as large as my head. After- 
wards he opened a chest full of ducats and crowns up to the brim. The 
turret itself was paved halfway down from the top with gold thalers." 
— {Diary of Hans Von Schweinichen.) 

Scene III.— 4 German Traveling Student (16th century).— The Ger- 
man boy who wished to become a scholar had often a weary road to 
plod. As ScJiutz, or younger student, he was always the fag of some 
bacchant, or older comrade, for whom he was forced to perform the most 
menial offices — his only consolation being that the bacchant, should he 
ever enter a university, would be equally humiliated by the students 
whose circle he would join. Thousands of bacchanten and schlitzen 
wandered over Germany, sipping like bees, first at one school, then at 
another ; every where begging their way under an organized system, 
which protected the older resident students from the greedy zeal of new 
arrivals. The autobiography of Thomas Platter, who began life as a 
Swiss shepherd-boy and ended it as a famous Bale schoolmaster, gives 
us some curious details of this scholastic vagrancy. At nine years of 
age, he was sent to the village priest of whom he "learned to sing a 
little of the salve and to beg for eggs, besides being cruelly beaten and 
ofttimes dragged by the ears out of the house." He soon joined his 
wandering cousin, Paulus, who proved even a harder master than the 
priest. " There were eight of us traveling together, three of whom 
were schiitzen, I being the youngest. When I could not keep up well, 



THE CIVILIZATION. 171 

Paulas came behind mc with a rod and switched me on my bare legs, 
for I had no stockings and bad shoes." The little schiitzen had to beg 
or steal enough to snpi)ort their seniors, though they were never allowed 
to sit at table with them, and were often sent supperless to their bed of 
foul straw in the stable, while the bacchanten dined and slept in the 
inn. The party stopped at Nuremberg, then at Dresden, and thence 
journeyed to Breslau, " suffering much from hunger on the road, eating 
nothing for days but raw onions and salt, or roasted acorns and crabs. 
We slept in the open air, for no one would take us in, and often they 
set the dogs upon us." At Breslau there were seven parishes, each with 
its separate school supported by alms, no schiitzen being allowed to beg 
outside of his own parish. Here also was a hospital for the students, 
and a specified sum provided by the town for the sick. At the schools, 
the bacchanten had small rooms with straw beds, but the schiitzen lay 
on the hearth in winter, and in summer slept on heaps of grass in the 
churchyard. " When it rained we ran into the school, and if there was 
a storm we chanted the responsoria and other things almost all night 
with the succentor." There was such " excellent begging " at Breslau 
that the party fell ill from over-eating. The little ones were sometimes 
" treated at the beer-houses to strong Polish peasant beer, and got so 
drunk we could not find our way home." " In the school, nine bachelors 
always read together at the same hour in one room, for there were no 
printed Greek books in the country at that time. The preceptor alone 
had a printed Terence ; what was read, therefore, had first to be dictated, 
then parsed and construed, and lastly explained ; so that the bacchanten, 
when they went away, carried with them large sheets of writing." As 
to the schiitzen, the begging absorbed most of their time. Soon, the 
wandering fever came on again, and the party tramped back to Dresden 
and then to Ulm, falling meantime into great want. " Often I was so 
hungry that I drove the dogs in the streets away from their bones and 
gnawed them." The bacchanten now became so cruel and despotic that 
Thomas ran away, weeping bitterly that no one cared for him. " It was 
cold, and I had neither cap nor shoes, only torn stockings and a scanty 
jacket." Paulus, having no thought of giving up so good a provider, 
followed him hither and thither to the great fright and distress of the 
poor little schiitz, who had many a narrow escape from the vengeance 
of his pursuer. At last he reached his beloved Switzerland, which, he 
pathetically records, "made me so happy I thought I was in heaven." 
At Zurich, he ofiered his begging services to some bacchanten in return 
for their teaching, but "learned no more with them than with the 
others." At Strasburg he had no better success, but at Schlettstadt he 
found "the first school in which things went on well." It was the year 
of the Diet of Worms, and Thomas was now eighteen years old. He 
had been a nominal pupil for nine years, but could not yet read. His 



172 THE SiXTEiiNl'H CEKTlJBt. 

hard life had left its trace, and though, after the custom of the time, 
his name was forma]]y Latinized into Platterus, his preceptor con- 
temptuously added : "Poof! what a measly schiitz to have such a fine 
name!" Scholars soon so increased in this town that there was not 
support for all, and Thomas tried another village, " where there was a 
tolerably good school and more food ; but we were obliged to be so con- 
stantly in church that we lost all our time." At last he returned to 
Zurich, and placed himself under " a good and learned but severe school- 
master. I sat down in a corner near his chair and said to myself : ' In 
this corner will I study or die.' I got on well with Father Myconius ; 
he read Terence to us, and we had to conjugate and decline every word 
of a play. It often happened that my jacket was wet and my eyes 
almost blind with fear, and yet he never gave me a blow, save once on 
my cheek." Thomas's trials and struggles continued for some years 
longer. He learned rope-making as a means of support, and used to 
fasten the separate sheets of his Greek Plautus (a precious gift from a 
Bale printer) to the rope, that he might read while working. He 
studied much at night, and, in time, rose to be a corrector of the press, 
then citizen and printer, and, finally. Rector of the Latin School at 
Bale. 

SUMMARY. 

The sixteenth was the century of the Reformation — the century of 
Charles V., Francis I., Henry VIII., Pope Leo X,, Luther, Calvin, 
Philip II., William the Silent, Catharine de' Medici, Henry IV., Queen 
Elizabeth, Mary Stuart, Shakspere, Michael Angelo, Raphael, and Co- 
pernicus. It saw the battle of Pavia ; the conquest of Mexico and 
Peru ; the Reformation in Germany ; the founding of the order of 
Jesuits ; the abdication of Charles V. ; the battle of Lepanto ; the Massacre 
of St. Bartholomew ; the Union of Utrecht ; the triumph of the Beg- 
gars ; the death of Mary Stuart ; the defeat of the Spanish Armada ; the 
battle of Ivry, and the Edict of Nantes. 

R EADI NG REFERENCES. 

The General Modern Histories on p. 123^ and Special Histories oj England, France, 
Germany^ etc., on p. 112.—D''Aubiffne's Reformation.— Banke' s History of the Popes. 
—Boberison's Life of Charles V.— Motley' s Bise of the Dutch Bepublic, United Nether- 
lands, and John of Barneveld.— Spalding's History of the Protestant Beformation 
(^Catholic view).—Pressense''s Early Tears of Christianity.— Seebohm's Era of Protest- 
ant Bevolution {Epochs of History Series).— Fisher's Beformation.— Hdusser's Period 
of the Beformation.— Hubner's Life of Sixtus V.—Audin's Life of Luther {CatJwlic 
xiew).—Froude's Short Studies {Erasmus and Luther).— Smiles'' s The Huguenots.^ 
Hanna's Wars of the Huguenots.— Freer' s Histories of Henry III., and Maria de' 
Medici.— Ling ard's History of England {Et^a of the Beformation, Catholic view).— 
Macaulay'slvry {poem).— James's Henry of Guise, and Huguenots iftction).— Dumas' 8 



CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 



173 



Forty-five Quardsmen {fiction).— Ebers's Burgomaster's Wife {Siege of LcT/den).— 
Mifs Yonge's Unknoiun to History {^Romance illustrating Mary Stuart's times).— Mrs. 
Charles's Sc/idnberg- Coita Family. 



CH RONOLOGY 



A. D. 

Henry VIII., King of England. . . 1509-'4r 

Francis I. , King of France 1515-''47 

Luther publislies his theses 1517 

Charles V., Emperor of Germany, 1530-56 

Cortez takes Mexico 1521 

Battle of Pavia 1525 

Boiubon sacks Rome 1527 

Reformers called Protestants 1529 

Pizarro conquers Peru 1.533 

Order of Jesuits founded by Loyola. 1534 
Council of Trent 1545 



A. D. 

Treaty of Passau 1552 

Abdication of Charles V 1556 

Elizabeth, Q,ueen of England.. . . 1558-1603 

Battle of Lepanto 1571 

Massacre of St. Bartholomew 1572 

Siege of Leyden 1574 

Mary Queen of Scots, beheaded 1587 

Defeat of the Spanish Armada 1588 

Henry IV., King of France 1589 

Battle of Ivry 1590 

Edict of Nantes 1598 



CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 



ENGLAND. 

Henry VHI. . 1599 

Edward VI... 1547 

Mary 1553 

Elizabeth.... 1558 



FRANCE. 

Louis XII.... 1498 

Francis 1 1515 

Henry II 1547 

Francis II . . 1559 

Charles IX... 1.560 

Henry III.... 1574 

Henry IV.... 1589 



GERMANY. 

Maximilian I. 1498 
Charles v.... 1520 



Ferdinand I.. 1556 
Masimilianll. 1564 
Rudolph n... 1576 



SPAIN. 

Ferdinand & 

Isabella.... 1479 
Charles 1 1516 

Philip II 1556 

PhUip in.... 1593 




BRINGING IN THE YULE LOG AT CHRISTMAS. 



IH THE SEVEKTEEITTH CEKTUEY. 

THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 

I. THE THIRTY-YEARS WAR. 

The Causes of this war were mainly : 1. The smoldering 
religious hatred of half a century, kindled afresh by the 
Bohemian troubles ; 2. The church lands which the Protes- 
tants had seized and the Catholic princes sought to reclaim; 
3. The emperor Ferdinand's determination, backed by Spain, 
to subjugate Germany to his faith and house. 

Opening of the War. — The Bohemians, exasperated by- 
Ferdinand's intolerance (p. 138), reyolted, threw two of the 
royal councillors out of a window of the palace at Prague, 
and chose as king the elector-palatine Frederick, son-in-law 
of James I. of England. War ensued — the old Hussite strug- 
gle over again. But Frederick's army was defeated near 
Prague, in its first battle, and the " Winter King," as he was 
called, for he reigned only one winter, instead of gaining a 
kingdom, in the end lost his Palatinate, and died in poverty 
and exile.* Meanwhile, Ferdinand was chosen emperor. 

Spread of the War. — As the seat of the war passed from 
Bohemia into the Palatinate, the other German states, in 
spite of their singular indifference and jealousy, became 
involved in the struggle. Finally, Christian IV. of Denmark, 
who, as duke of Holstein, was a prince of the empire^ 

Geograp7iica2 Qtfesitons. — Locate Prague. Magdeburg. Leipsic, Liitzen. 
Rocroi. Freiburg. Nordlingen. Lens. Eastadt. Strasburg.— Point out Bohemia, 
Westphalia. Saxony. Pomerania. The Palatinate. Brandenburg. Alsace. Brus- 
sels. Luxemburg. Nimeguen. Fleurus. Steinkirk. Neerwinden. Blenheim. 
Ramillies. Oudenarde. Malplaquet. Dunkirk. Eochelle. Nantes. Utrecht.— Dover. 
Marston Moor. Naseby. Dunbar. Worcester. 

* Little did his wife Elizabeth dream, as she wandered among foreign courts beg- 
ging shelter for herself and children, that her grandson would sit on the English 
throne. 



1C37.] 



THE THIRTY-YEARS WAR. 



175 




espoused Frederick's cause. In this crisis, Count Wallenstein 
volunteered to raise an army for the emperor, and support 
it from the hostile territory. The magic of his name and 
the hope of plunder drew adventurers from all sides. With 
one hundred thousand men he invaded Denmark. Chris- 
tian was forced to flee to his islands, and finally to sue for 
peace (1629). 
Ferdinand's Triumph now appeared complete. Ger- 



176 THE SEYENTEEKTH CE:N'TUKY. [1629. 

many lay helpless at his feet. The dream of Charles Y. — an 
Austrian monarch, absolute, like a French or a Spanish 
king — seemed about to be realized. Ferdinand ventured to 
force the Protestants to restore the church lands. But 
Wallenstein's mercenaries had become as obnoxious to the 
Catholics as to the Protestants, and Ferdinand was induced 
to dismiss him just at the moment when, as the event 
proved, he most needed his services. For, ^t this juncture, 

Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, landed with a 
small army on the Baltic coast. A pious, prudent, honest, 
resolute, generous man; maintaining strict discipline among 
his soldiers, who were devoted to their leader ; holding pray- 
ers in camp, night and morning; sharing every hardship with 
the meanest private, and every danger with the bravest ; treat- 
ing the enemy with humanity, respecting the rights of the 
inhabitants of the country, and paying for the food he took ; 
improving the art of war by breaking the heavy masses of 
the army into small battalions, by throwing off their armor, 
by reducing the weight of their weapons, and by mingling 
the cavalry, pikemen, artillery, and musketeers so as to sup- 
port one another in battle, — such was the man who now 
appeared as the Protestant champion. In Vienna, they 
laughed at the " Snow king," as they called him, and said 
he would melt under a southern sun. But, by the next sum- 
mer, he had taken eighty towns and fortresses. France, then 
ruled by Kichelieu (p. 181), made a treaty promising him 
money to pay his army; and, though England did not join 
him, thousands of English and Scotch rallied around the 
banner of the Lion of the North. 

Tilly, the best imperial general after Wallenstein, now laid 
siege to Magdeburg (1631). Gustavus hastened to- its relief. 
But, while he was negotiating leave to cross the Protestant 
states of Saxony and Brandenburg, Magdeburg was taken by 



1631.] THE TniRTY-YEARS WAR. 177 

storm. For three days, Tilly's bandit soldiers robbed and 
murdered throughout the doomed city. From that time, 
this hero of thirty-six battles never won another field. On 
the plain of Leipsic, Gustavus captured Tilly's guns, turned 
them upon him, and drove his army into headlong flight. 
The victor, falling on his knees amid the dead and dying, 
gave thanks to God for his success. The next year, at the 
crossing of the Lech, Tilly was mortally wounded. 

Count Wallensteiyi^ was now recalled, the humbled em- 
peror giving him absolute power over his army. He soon 
gathered a force of men, who knew no trade but arms and 
no principle but plunder. After months of maneuvering, 
during which these skilful generals sought to take each 
other at a flisad vantage, Gustavus, learning that Wallenstein 
had sent his best cavalry-officer, Pappenheim, with ten thou- 
sand men, into Westphalia, attacked the imperial forces at 

Liltzen, near Leipsic (1632). After prayer, his army sang 
Lather's hymn, ^^God is a strong tower," when he himself 
led the advance. Three times that day the hard-fought field 
was lost and won. At last, Gustavus, while rallying his 
troops, was shot. The riderless horse, galloping wildly down 
the line, spread the news. But the Swedes, undismayed, 
fought under duke Bernard of Weimar more desperately than 
ever. Pappenheim, who had been hastily recalled, came 
up only in time to meet their fierce charge, and to die at 
the head of his dragoons. Night put an end to the carnage. 

* Wallenstein lived on his princely estates with regal pomp. He was served by 
nobles ; sixty high-born pages did his bidding, and sixty life-guards watched in his 
ante-chamber. His horses ate from mangers of polished steel, and their stalls were 
decorated with paintings. When he traveled, his suite filled sixty carriages ; and his 
baggage, one hundred wagons. The silence of death brooded around him. He so 
dreaded noise that the streets leading to his palace in Prague were closed by chains, 
lest the sound of carriage-wheels should reach his ear. He believed in astrology, and 
that the stars foretold him a brilliant destiny. His men thought him to be in league 
with spirits, and hence invulnerable in battle. Like Tilly, he wore in his hat a blood- 
red feather, and it is said that his usual dress was scarlet. 



178 



THE SEVEKTEEKTH CUKTURY. 



[1632. 



In the darkness, Wallenstein 
crept off, leaving behind him 
his colors and cannon. Gns- 
tavns had fallen, like Epami- 
nondas, in the hour of victory. 




BEFORE THE BATTLE OF LUTZEN. 



After the Death of Gustavus, the war had little inter- 
est. As the, Swedish crown fell to Christina, a little girl of 
six years, the direction of military affairs was given to the 
chancellor Oxenstiern, an able statesman ; under him were 
Bernard — duke of Weimar — and generals Horn and Banner, 
and, later, the brilliant Torstenson. Ferdinand, suspecting 
Wallenstein's fidelity, caused his assassination. At Word- 
lingen (1634), the Swedes met their first great defeat, and 
the next year most of the Protestant states of Germany 



1635-1648.] THE THIRTY -YEARS WAR. 179 

made terms with the emperor. Still the war dragged on 
thirteen years longer. 

The Character of the contest had now entirely changed. 
It was no longer a struggle for the supremacy of Catholic or 
Protestant. The progress of the war had destroyed the feel- 
ings with which it had commenced. France had openly 
taken the field against Spain and Austria. Ferdinand died, 
and his son, Ferdinand III., came to the throne; Eichelieu 
and Louis XIII. died, but Louis XIV. and his minister, 
Mazarin, continued the former policy. Both French and 
Sw^edes strove to get lands in Germany, and Ferdinand 
struggled to save as much as possible from their grasping 
hands. The contending armies — composed of the offscour- 
ings of all Europe — surged to and fro, leaving behind them 
a broad track of ruin. The great French generals, Conde 
and Turenne, masters of a new art of war, by the victories 
of Rocroi, Freiburg,'^ JVordUngen, and Lens, assured the 
power of France. Maximilian of Bavaria made a heroic 
stand for the emperor ; but, at last, Bavaria being overrun, 
Bohemia invaded, a part of Prague taken, f and Vienna itself 
threatened, Ferdinand was forced to sign the 

Peace of Westphalia (1G48).— This treaty— the basis of 
our modern map of Europe — crystallized the results of the 
Reformation. It recognized the independence of Holland 
and Switzerland ; granted religious freedom to the Protes- 
tant states of Germany ; and gave Alsace to France, and a 
part of Pomerania to Sweden. 

The Effect of the Thirty- Years War upon Germany is not yet 
effaced. " The wliole land," says Carlyle, " had been tortured, torn to 
pieces, wrecked, and brayed as in a mortar," Two-tliirds of the popu- 
lation had disappeared. Famine, pestilence, and the sword had con- 
verted vast tracts into a wilderness. Whole villages stood empty save 

* According to tradition, Conde, in this battle, threw his marshal's baton into the 
enemy's trenches, and then recovered it, sword in hand. 

t Thus the Thirty-Years War, whicli began at Prague, ended at Prague, 



180 



THE SEVEiq-TEENTH CEKTUHT. 



[1610. 



for the famished dogs that prowled around the deserted houses. All 
idea of nationality was lost ; the Holy Roman Empire was practically at 
an end, and the name German emperor was henceforth merely an empty 
title of the Austrian rulers ; while, between the Alps and the Baltic, 
were three hundred petty states, each with its own court, coinage, and 
customs. Trade, literature, and manufactures were paralyzed. French 
manners and habits were servilely imitated, and each little court sought 
to reproduce in miniature the pomp of Versailles. Henceforth, until 
almost our own times, the empire has no history, and that of the differ- 
ent states is a dreary chapter indeed. " From the Peace of Westphalia 
to the French Revolution," says Bryce, " it would be hard to find a sin- 
gle grand character, a single noble enterprise, a single sacrifice to public 
interests, or a single instance where the welfare of the nation was pre- 
ferred to the selfish passion of the prince. When we ask for an account 
of the political life of Germany in the 18th century, we hear nothing but 
the scandals of buzzing courts and the wrangling of diplomatists at 
never-ending congresses." Even Lessing, the great German author, 
wrote, " Of the love of country, I have no conception ; it appears to me, 
at best, a heroic weakness which I am right glad to be without." 

II. FRANCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 
1. THE AGE OF EICHELIEU (162a-'42). 

Louis XIII. (1610-'43).— The dagger of Ravaillac gave 

the crown to Henry's son, 
a boy of nine years. The 
queen-mother, Maria de' 
Medici, the regent, squan- 
dered upon her favorites 
the treasures saved by the 
frugal Sully, who now re- 
tired in disgrace. The 
nobles, regaining power, 
levied taxes and coined 
money, as in feudal times ; 
while the Huguenots — 
forming an independent 
state within the state — garrisoned fortresses, hired soldiers, 
and held political assemblies. All was chaos until Louis, 
having come of age, called a new man to his councils, 




LOUIS XIII. 



1622.] 



FRANCE — THE AGE OF RICHELIEU. 



181 



Cardinal de Richelieu.* — Henceforth, Louis was the 
second man in France, but the first in Europe. The king 
cowered before the 
genius of his minis- 
ter, whom he hated 
and yet obeyed. 
Richelieu had three 
objects: to destroy 
the Huguenots as a 
party, to subdue the 
nobles, and to hum- 
ble Austria. 

1. By building a 
stone mole across 
the entrance to the 
harbor of Rochelle 
and shutting out 
the English fleet, Richelieu reduced that Huguenot strong- 
hold. The other Oalvinist towns then submitting, he gen- 
erously granted the reformers freedom of worship. 

2. By destroying the feudal castles, and by attracting the 
nobles to Paris, where they became absorbed in the luxuries 
and friyolities of the court, he weakened their provincial 
power. The rebellious aristocracy hated the cardinal, and 
formed conspiracy after conspiracy against him. But he 
detected each plot, and punished its authors with merciless 
severity. The nobility crushed, parliament — the highest 




CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 



* "This extraordinary man," says Miss Edwards, in her charming History of 
France, '• has been, not inaptly, compared with his predecessor, Wolsey of England. 
Like him, he was a prelate, a minister, a consummate politician, and a master of the 
arts of intrigue. He gave his whole attention and all his vast abilities to affairs of 
state, was prodigal of display, and entertained projects of the most towering ambi- 
tion. He added to his ministerial and priestly dignities the emoluments and honors 
of the profession of arms ; assumed the dress and title of generalissimo of the French 
army ; and wore alternately the helmet of the warrior and the scarlet hat of th? 
cardinal," 



182 



THE SEYENTEEKTH CEKTURT, 



[1643. 



court of law— was forced to register the royal edicts with- 
out examination. The monarchy was, at last, absolute. 

3. By supporting the Protestants during the Thirty- Years 
War^ Eichelieu weakened the House of Austria in Germany 
and Spain, and so made France the head of the European 
States-System. 

Just at the hour of his triumph, the famous minister died, 
and, as if to show how closely his life was linked to that of 
the king, Louis survived him only six months. 



3. THE AGE OP LOUIS XIY. (1643-1715). 

Louis XIV. was only five years old at his father's death. 
Anne of Austria, the queen-mother, became regent, and 

Mazarin was appointed 
prime-minister. The fruits 
of Richelieu's foreign policy 
were rapidly gathered by the 
two renowned generals — 
Conde and Turenne — who 
now commanded the French 
armies. The battles of Ro- 
croi,'^ Freiburg, Nordlingen, 
and Lens humiliated Aus- 
tria, and paved the way to 
the Peace of Westphalia. 
Spain, howeyer, continued 




CARDIXAL MAZARIN. 



* It is thought that the pupil will be aided iu remembering these important bat- 
tles if he associate the four names with Conde and Turenne (though Turenne fought 
only at Freiburg and Nordlingen) : the names frequently repeated together will form 
a chain of association. The same remark holds true with regard to Luxemburg's 
three battles (p. 186), and Marlborough's four battles (p. 187). On the field of 
Rocroi the French found the remains of the Castilian infantry, first formed by Gon- 
salvo (p. 125), lying dead in battle-line, and, at the head, the commander, Comte de 
Fuentes, hero of twenty battles, expiring in an arm-chair in which, on account of 
his feebleness, he had been borne to the front. " Were I not victor," said the young 
Puke d'Enghein (Conde), '' I should wish thus \o die," 



1659] 



FRANCE — THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV, 



183 



the war * until, by the Peace of the Pyrenees (1G59), she 
yielded Artois and Roussillon to Louis. From this time, 
France held that place among European nations which Spain 
had so long occupied. Upon the death of Mazarin (1661), 

Louis assumed the Government. — Henceforth, for 
over half a century, he was sole master in France. He 
became his own prime-minister, and, though only twenty- 
three years old, by his dili- 
gence, soon acquired the de- 
tails of public affairs. He 
selected his assistants with 
rare wisdom. Colbert — the 
new finance-minister — was 
another Sully, by economy 
and system increasing the 
revenues, while he encour- 
aged agriculture, manufac- 
tures, and commerce. Lou- 
vois — the war-ir.inister — or- 
ganized and equipped the 
army, making it the terror of 
Europe. Never had France 
been so powerful. One hun- 
dred fortresses, monuments 
of the skill of Vauban — the 
greatest engineer of his day, 
covered the frontier; one 




* The cost of this war and the luxury of the court made the taxes very onerous. 
Finally, parliament refused to register the tariff, and an insurrection broke out in 
which the burghers of Paris and many of the nobles joined. This revolt is known as 
the Feonde ; and the actors, FBONDEUKS-since the gamins of Paris, with their 
slings, were foremost in the outbreak. The struggle was a burlesque upon civil war. 
Fun ran rampant. Everything was a Fronde ; and a sling, the universal fashion. 
The leaders on each side were the most fascinating women of France. In the end, 
the Fronde was subdued. It was the last struggle of the nobles against despotism. 



184 THE SEVENTEEJ^TTH CENTURY. [1685. 

hundred ships of the line lay in the magnificent harbors of 
Toulon, Brest, and Havre ; and an army of one hundred and 
forty thousand men, under Turenne, Oonde, and Luxemburg, 
was ready to take the field at the word. The French people, 
weary of strife, willingly surrendered their political rights 
to this autocrat, who secured to them prosperity at home 
and dignity abroad. 

The Persecution of the Huguenots sadly marred the 
glory of this brilliant reign. By the advice of the cold and 
selfish Louvois and Madame de Maintenon — whom he finally 
married after the death of Maria Theresa — the edict of Nantes 
was revoked (1685). The Protestant schools were closed ; the 
Huguenot ministers expelled; and squadrons of brutal cav- 
alry quartered upon the suspected. Many citizens were 
imprisoned, executed, or sent to the galleys. Two hundred 
thousand of the best artisans were driven to foreign lands, 
whither they carried arts and industries before that known 
only to France. 

Four Great Wars were waged by Louis to gratify his 
ambition, and, extend the power of France. These were : 

1. War of Flanders (1667-'8) ; ended by Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
3. War witli Holland, and First Coalition (1672-79) ; closed by Treaty 
of Nimeguen. 

3. War of the Palatinate; Second Coalition (1688-'97); concluded by 
Peace of Ryswick. 

4. War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14); terminated by Treaties 
of Utrecht and Eastadt. 

1. War of Flanders. — On the death of his father-in-law, 
Philip IV. of Spain, Louis, in the name of Maria Theresa, 
invaded Flanders. But, in the midst of a triumphant pro- 
gress, he was checked by the " Tri2)le Alliance^' of England, 
Holland, and Sweden, and forced to make the Treaty of Aix- 
la-Chapelle, giving up most of his conquests. 



1673.] 



FRANCE — THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV. 



185 



2. War ivith Holland. — Louis was eager to revenge himself 
upon the little republic that had so long been the ally of 
France, but now defended its old oppressor, Spain. So, hav- 
ing bribed England and Sweden to desert the alliance, he 
poured his troops in- 
to Holland. With 
him were Conde, Tu- 
renne, Luxemburg, 
Louvois, and Vau- 
ban. Armed with 
the bayonet, then a 
new and terrible 
weapon, they swept 
all before them until 
within sight of Am- 
sterdam. But once 
again the courage of 
the Dutch rose high 
as in the days of the 
Sea Beggars. * " Bet- 
ter," said they, "let 

the sea drown our farms, than the French destroy our liber- 
ties." The sluices were opened, and the German Ocean, rush- 
ing in, saved the capital. William, prince of Orange,f chosen 
stadtholder in this emergency, aroused all Europe with dread 
of Louis's ambition. Soon, the First Coalition of the Empire, 
Spain, and Brandenburg (now Prussia) was formed against 
France. Louis, however, made head against all these foes 
until, Europe longing for peace, he granted the Treaty of 




TURENNE. 



* The Dutch even proposed, in case of reverse, to embark on their fleet, like the 
Athenians (Anc. Hist., p. 132), to abandon their country to this modern Xerxes, sail 
to their East Indian possessions, and found a new republic beyond the sea. 

t The great-grandson of the Liberator of the Netherlands (p. 140), and, afterward, 
William HI. of England (p. 205). 



186 THE SEVEITTEENTH CEKTUEY. [1679. 

Nimeguen. This gave to France, Franche Comte, and sev- 
eral fortresses and towns in Flanders. Louis now considered 
himself the arbiter of Europe. He seized Strasburg in a time 
of profound peace ; captured the fortress of Luxemburg; 
bombarded Algiers; humiliated Genoa, forcing the Doge to 
come to Paris and beg for mercy ; wrested Avignon from the 
pope ; and, basest of all, secretly encouraged the Turks to 
invade Austria.* 

3. The War of the Second Coalition f was begun by its most 
memorable event — Turenne's devastation of the Palatinate. 
Here the French army, unable to hold its conquests, destroyed 
over forty cities and villages. Houses were blown up ; vine- 
yards and orchards cut down. Palaces, churches, and uni- 
versities shared a common fate. Even the cemeteries were 
profaned, and the ashes of the dead scattered to the wind. 
A cry of execration went up from the civilized world. 
William, prince of Orange, then king of England (p. 205), 
became the leader of the " Grand Alliance," to set bounds to 
Louis's power. 

At first, Louis was triumphant. Luxemburg % — the suc- 
cessor of Turenne and Conde— conquered the allies under 
William, at Fleurus, Steinhirh, and Neeriuinden. But Wil- 
liam was greatest in defeat, and his stubborn valor held the 
French in check. Ere long, misfortunes gathered thickly 
about the Grand Monarch. Colbert, Louvois, and Luxem- 
burg died. Louis was finally forced to sign the Treaty of 

* Vienna would have fallen into the hands of the Infidel if it had not been for John 
Sobieski, king of Poland, who routed the Turks under the walls of the city as Charles 
the Hammer put to flight the Saracen on the plains of Tours nearly ten centuries 
before. 

+ This war extended to North America and is known in our history as King Wil- 
liam's War (Hist. U. S., p. 77). 

X Luxemburg was styled the upholsterer of Notre Dame, from the number of cap- 
tured flags he sent to be hung as trophies in that cathedral. " Would to God," said 
he, on his death-bed, " that I could ofi"er Him, instead of so many useless laurels, the 
merit of a cup of water given to the poor in His name." 



1097.] FRAKCE — THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV. 187 

RyswicJc, recognizing- Williiim as lawful sovereign of Eng- 
land, and surrendering most of his conquests, but retaining 
Strasburg, which Vauban's art had made the key of the 
Rliine. 

4. The War of tlie Spanish Succession'^' began the 18th 
century. Charles II. of Spain willed his crown to Philip of 
Anjou — son of the Dauphin ; Louis supported his grandson's 
claim. The emperor Leopold f was as nearly related to the 
Spanish family as was Louis, so he asserted the right of his 
second son, the Archduke Charles. The union of France 
and Spain under the House of Bourbon endangering the 
Balance of Power, a Third Coalition was formed. William, 
the soul of this league also, died at the beginning of the war. 
But his place in the field was more than filled by the brilliant 
Duke of Marlborough, and by Prince Eugene, who commanded 
the imperial forces.}; The former won the famous victories 
of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet ; the 
latter drove the French headlong out of Italy, and threat- 
ened France. The long wars had exhausted the people; 
famine and disease ran riot through the land ; and Louis 
humihated himself in vain, begging the allies for peace. 

In the midst of disaster, however, he achieved his end by 
two unlooked-for events. The archduke became emperor, 
and the allies were as unwilling that Spain should be united 
to Austria as to France ; in England, the Tories came into 
power, and recalled the dreaded Marlborough. The terrible 
struggle was ended by the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt. 
Philip was acknowledged king of Spain; the Spanish posses- 

* This struggle also involved the American colonies, and is known in our history 
as Queen Anne's War (ffist. U. S., p. 79). 

t Known in history as the " Little man with the red stockings." 
X Eugene was bred in France, and offered his sword to Louis, but was contemptu- 
ously rejected. Having called the Grand Monarch "• a stage-king for show and a chess- 
king for use," he had grievously offended the king, and now, having entered the 
emperor's service, he became the bitterest enemy of France. 



188 THE SEVEKTEEKTH CEKTURY. [1714 

sions in Italy and the Netherlands were ceded to the emperor 
Charles VI. ; Newfoundland, Acadia, and Gibraltar — the key 
of the Mediterranean — were given to England. 

Death of Louis. — The Grand Monarch had carried out 
his plan, but he had impoverished France, mortgaged her 
revenues for years in advance, and destroyed her industries. 
Worn and disappointed, he closed his long reign of seventy- 
two years, having outlived his good fortune, and sacrificed 
his country to his false ideas of glory. 

111. ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS (1603-1714). 

The Stuart Rule covered the 17th century. It was the 
era of the English constitutional struggle. The characteristic 
feature was the conflict between the kings bent npon abso- 
lute power, and the Parliament contending for the rights of 
the people. 

TABLE OF THE STUAET LINE. (See Tudor Table, p. 149.) 
James I., son of Mary Queen of Scots (160S-'25), 



Chakles I. (1625-'49). | 

I Elizabeth, m. Elector- 

I I I Palatine. 

Chakles IL (1660-'85). James II. (1685-^89). Sophia, m. Electoti of 



I I 

Mary II. (1689 -'94) . - A^ne (1702-' 14). 



George I. (1714). 



James I. (1603-'25). Obstinate, conceited, pedantic, 
weak, mean-looking in person, ungainly in manners, slovenly 
in dress, led by unworthy favorites, given to wine, and so 
timorous as to shudder at a drawn sword, — the first Stuart 
king had few qualities of a ruler.=* In strange contrast with 

* Macaulay says that " James was made up of two men— a witty, well-read scholar, 
who wrote, disputed, and harangued ; and a nervous, drivelling idiot, who acted.'" 
Sully styled him '' The wisest fool in Europe." He was the author of several books, 
notably of one against the use of tobacco, and, under his patronage, the translation of 
the Bible still in general use was made by a commission of scholars. 



190 



THE SEVEKTEEKTH CENTURY. 



[1603. 



his undignified appearance, were his royal pretensions. He 
believed in the "divine right" of the king, and in the^' pas- 
sive obedience" of the subject. Wliile the Tudors had the 
tact to become absolute by making themselves the exponents 
of the national will, James ostentatiously opposed his per- 
sonal policy to the popular desire. 




GUY FAWKES AND HIS COMPANIONS. 
(From a Print of the Time.) 



Ounpoioder Plot. — The Catholics naturally expected tol- 
eration from Mary's son, but, being persecuted more bitterly 
than ever, a few desperate ones resolved to blow up Parlia- 
ment on the day of its opening by the king (1605). They 
accordingly hired a cellar under the Houses of Parliament, 
where they hid thirty-six barrels of gunpowder beneath fag- 
ots of firewood. At the last moment, a conspirator sent a 
note to a relation, warning him to keep away from Parlia- 
ment. The letter was shown to the king, search made, and 
Guy Fawkes found waiting with lantern and slow match to 



1605.J ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS. 191 

fire tlie train. This horrible plot bore bitter fruit, and 
stringent laws were passed against the ^^ recusants/' i.e., 
those who refused to attend church. 

Parliament and the king were in conflict throughout this 
reign — the former contending for more liberty ; the latter, for 
more power. James would have gladly done without Parlia- 
ment altogether, but he had constantly to go begging for 
money to the House of Commons, and that body adopted the 
principle, now one of the corner-stones of the British constitu- 
tion, that ''A redress of grievances must precede a granting 
of supplies." Eesolved not to yield, the king dissolved Par- 
liament after Parliament, and sought to raise a revenue by 
reviving various feudal customs. He extorted benevolences, 
sold titles of nobility, and increased monopolies until the 
entire trade of the country was in the hands of about two 
hundred persons. But these makeshifts availed him little, 
and, step by step. Parliament gained ground. Before the end 
of his reign, it had suppressed the odioiis monopolies, reformed 
the law courts, removed obnoxious royal favorites, impeached 
at its bar the highest officers of the crown, made good its 
claim to exclusive control of taxation, and asserted its right 
to discuss any question pertaining to the welfare of the 
realm. 

Jameses foreign policy was, if possible, more unpopular 
in England than his domestic. He undid the work of Eliza- 
beth, and the fruit of the triumph over the Armada ; culti- 
vated the friendship of Spain; and, during the Thirty- 
Years War, refused any efficient aid to his son-in-law, the 
Elector Palatine, though the nation clamored to join in the 
struggle. England now ceased to be the leading Protestant 
power in Europe. 

Charles I. (1625-^49), unlike his father James, was 
refined in taste and dignified in manner, but his ideas of the 



19^ 



THE SEVENTEENTH CENTUEY. 



[1625. 




royal prerogatiye 
were even more 
exalted. He made 
promises only to 
break them, and 
the nation soon 
learned to doubt 
the royal word. 
His wife, Henriet- 
ta Maria, daughter 
of Henry IV. of 
France, favored 
absolutism after 
the French mod- 
el, and hated the 
Puritans, who were 
jealous of her as a 
Catholic. Buck- 
ingham, who had been James's favorite, was the king's chief 
adviser. Wife and favorite both urged Charles on in the 
fatal course to which his own inclinations tended. The 
history of his reign is that of one long 

Struggle tetween Parliament and King. — The Parliament 
of 1628 wrested from Charles the famous Petition of Eight 
— the second great charter of English liberty. It forbade the 
king to levy taxes without the consent of Parliament, to 
imprison a subject without trial, or to billet soldiers in pri- 
vate houses. Charles, however, as usual, disregarded his 
promise, and then for eleven years ruled like an autocrat. 

During this period, no Parliament was convoked — an 
instance unparalleled in English history. Buckingham hav- 
ing been assassinated by a Puritan fanatic, the Earl of Straf- 
ford and Archbishop Laud became the royal advisers. The 
former contrived a cruel plan known as *' Thorough," by 



CHARLES I. AND HIS ARMOR-BEARER. 
(From a Painting by Vandyck.) 



1629-1640.] ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS. 193 

which he meant to make the king absolute. In Ireland, 
where tlie scheme was tried, Irish and English alike crouched 
in terror under his iron rule. Laud was resolved to crush 
the Pui'itans, and restore to the church many of its ancient 
usages. All who differed from him were tried in the High 
Commission Court; while the Star Chamber* Court fined, 
whipped and imprisoned those speaking ill of the king's 
policy, or refusing to pay the money he illegally demanded. 
The Puritans, persecuted on every hand, found their only 
refuge in the wilds of America, and, in a single year, three 
thousand joined their brethren in New England. 

No tax awakened more feeling than the imposition of ship- 
money upon inland towns in time of peace. At last, the 
opposition found a voice in John Hampden. He resisted the 
levy of twenty shillings upon his property, and, though 
beaten in the royal court, became the people's hero. 

In Scotland, also, Charles carried matters with a high 
hand. Laud daringly attempted to abolish Presbyterianism, 
and introduce a liturgy. Thereupon, the indignant Scotch 
rose en masse, and signed, some of them with their own 
blood, a covenant binding themselves to resist every innova- 
tion on their religious rights. Finally, an army of Scots 
crossed the border, and Charles was forced to assemble the 
celebrated 

''Long Parliament'^ (1640), so-called because it lasted 
twenty years. The old contest was renewed. Strafford and, 
afterward. Laud were brought to the block ; the Star-Cham- 
ber and High Commission Courts were abolished; and Par- 
hament voted that it could not be adjourned without its 
own consent. At last, Charles, in desperation, rashly at- 

* This court was so called because it met in a chamber at Westminster whose 
ceiling was decorated with gilt stars. "A London citizen was severely punished by 
one of the royal courts for terming the crest of a nobleman upon the buttons of his 
livery-servant a goose, instead of a swan." 



194 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTUET. [164S. 




CROMWELL DISSOLVING THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 

tempted, with a body of armed men, to arrest in the House 
itself five of the patriot leaders, among them Hampden and 
Pym. They took refuge in the city, whence, seven days later, 
they were brought back to the House of Commons in triumph, 
escorted by the London train bands, amid the roar of can- 
non and the shouts of the people. 

Civil War (1642-48) was now inevitable. Charles has- 
tened northward and unfurled the royal banner. The Puri- 
tans, together with London and the cities generally, sup- 
ported Parliament ; the clergy, the nobles, and the gay 
young men, who disliked the Puritan strictness, favored the 
king.* Eupert, Charles's nephew and son of the Winter 



* The royalists were called Cavaliers^ from their skill in riding ; and the parlia- 
mentarians, Roundheads, from the Puritan fashion of wearing closely-cut hair. In 
later times, the same parties were styled Tories and Whigs, and at the present day are 
known, with little change, as Conservatives and Badicals. 



1644.] EKGLAKD UNDER TUE STUARTS. 195 

Kiug (p. 17-i), was a dashing cavalry-officer, and, on field 
after field, swept everything before him. The plough-boys, 
apprentice-lads, and shop-keepers, who made up the parlia- 
mentary army, were no match for the English chivalry. But 
a new man came to the front at 

Marston Moor (1644). — Oliver Cromwell, with his Iron- 
sides — a regiment of Puritan dragoons selected and trained 
after a plan of his own * — here drove Rupert's cavaliers 
pell-mell from the field. 

The Independents. — The Puritan party had now become 
strong ; but it was divided into Presbyterians and Independ- 
ents. The Presbyterians, constituting the majority of Par- 
liament, desired religious conformity and to limit the royal 
authority ; the Independents wished religious toleration 
and to found a republic. Cromwell was the chief of the 
latter faction, which now took the lead. Under its auspices, 
the army known as the ^' New Model " w^as organized. It 
was composed of earnest, God-fearing men, who fought, not 
for pay but for liberty of conscience. Perfect discipline was 
combined with enthusiastic religious fervor. Profanity and 
drunkenness were unknown. Officers and men spent their 
leisure in prayer and Bible -reading, and went into battle 
singing psalms and hymns. . The New Model fought with 
the royal forces at 

Nasely (1645) the decisive contest of the war. The Round- 
head left wing yielded to the fury of Rupert's Cavaliers, who 
pursued the fugitives in hot haste. Meanwhile, Cromwell 
routed the royalist left wing, then turned back, and, attack- 
ing in flank the center, where Charles commanded, swept the 
field. Rupert returned from his mad pursuit, only to find 
the battle over and the royal cause irrevocably lost. 

* In the evening after Edgehill, the first battle of this war, Oliver said to his cousin, 
John Hampden, " It is plain that men of religion are wanted to withstand these gen- 
tlemen of honor." 



196 



THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 



[1645. 



The King^s Fate. — Charles 
fled to the Scots, who gave 
him up to the Parliament; 
but the army soon got him 
into its possession. Negotia- 
tions ensued, during which 




EXECUTION OF CHARLES I. 



the king sought to play oif the Independents against the Pres- 
byterians, until his insincerity became evident to all. The 
army, then the master, had no confidence in the king, and 
even Cromwell and his son-in-law Ireton, who struggled long 
to mediate upon the basis of civil and religious liberty, were 
forced to yield. A body of soldiers under Colonel Pride 
surrounded the House of Commons, and shut out the Pres- 
byterian members. Thus reduced, by what is known as 
'^ Pride's Purge," to about eighty Independents, the House 



1649.] ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS. 197 

appointed a commission to try the king on a charge of treason. 
Condemned to death, Charles met his fate with a dignity that 
went far to atone for the follies and errors of his life.* 

The Commonwealth (lG49-'60). — England was now to 
be governed without king or lords. Authority was vested in 
the diminished House of Commons, contemptuously styled 
the " Eump." The real ruler, however, was Cromwell, who, 
with his terrible army, silenced all opposition. 

In Ireland and Scotland, the Prince of Wales was pro- 
claimed as Charles II. Thereupon, Cromwell's merciless 
Ironsides conquered Ireland as it never had been before ; 
then, crossing into Scotland, they routed the Covenanters 
at Duntar, and again, on the anniversary of that victory, at 
Worcester.\ 

War also broke out with Holland for the empire of the 
sea. The Dutch were at first successful, and Van Tromp 
sailed up the channel with a broom tied at his masthead, to 
show that he meant to sweep the English from the ocean. 

* He nothing ^ommon did or mean 
Upon that memorable scene ; 
But with his keener eye 
The ase's edge did try ; 
Nor called the gods with vulgar spite 
To vindicate his helpless right ; 
But how'd his comely head 
Down, as upon a hed.—MarmU. 
When the executioner lifted the severed head from the block, a groan of pity burst 
from the horror-stricken multitude. Yet even in the shadow of the scaflold, Charles - 
asserted his continued belief that " a share in government" is " nothing pertaining " 
to the people. 

+ Charles II., as the price of the Scottish support, had signed the Covenant, and 
declared himself afflicted at the thought of his father's tyranny and his mother's idol- 
atry. He had, however, no real hold upon Scotland, and after the battle of Worcester 
became a fugitive. The story of his escape to the continent is f uU of romantic adven- 
tures. At one time, he took refuge in the spreading branches of an oak-tree whence 
he could see the red-coats scouring the country in pursuit ; at another, he was dis- 
guised as a groom to a lady who rode behind him on a pillion as was then the cus- 
tom. Though over forty persons knew his secret, and Parliament had offered a 
reward of one thousand pounds for his capture, all were faithful to their trust, and 
the prince finally reached a collier at the seaside, and was carried across to Nor- 
mandy. 



198 THE SEVEITTEENTH CENTUEY. [1654 

But the British fleet under the gallant Blake finally forced 
Holland to a treaty agreeing that, when ships of the two 
nations met, the Dutch vessel should salute by striking its 
flag. 

Cromiuell and Parliament. — The Eump did not govern 
satisfactorily, and so Cromwell with a file of soldiers drove 
the members from the hall, and put the keys in his pocket 
(1653). He then called an assembly of his own selection. 
It was known as "Praise-God Barebone's Parliament," from 
the quaint name of one of its members. This body soon 
resigned its power into Cromwell's hands, having given him 
the title of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. 

The Protectorate. — Cromwell desired to rule constitution- 
ally by means of a Parliament; but the Houses of Com- 
mons which he assembled proved troublesome, and were 
dissolved. So he governed as a military despot. He had 
the power of a king, but, like Caesar, dared not take the 
title. Under his vigorous administration, the glory of Eng- 
land, dimmed by the policy of the Stuarts, shone even 
brighter than under Elizabeth. The Barbary pirates were 
chastised ; Jamaica was captured ; and Dunkirk was received 
from Erance in return for help against Spain. Everywhere 
protecting the Protestants, Cromwell forced the Duke of. 
Savoy to cease persecuting the Vaudois ; and he dreamed of 
making England the head of a great Protestant league. In 
spite, however, of his genius and strength, of renown abroad, 
and prosperity at home, 

CromwelVs last days were full of gloom. He had kept the 
hearts of his soldiers, but had broken with almost every other 
class of his countrymen. The people were weary of the Puri- 
tan strictness that rebuked so many of their innocent amuse- 
ments ; weary of the rule of a soldier ; above all, perhaps, 
weary of a republic. Factional strife grew hot, and republi- 



1658.] ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS. 199 

can and royalist alike plotted against their new tyrant. In 
constant dread of assassination, Cromwell wore a coat of 
mail, and, it is said, slept in a different room every night. 
The death of a favorite daughter greatly afflicted him. He 
died shortly afterward, in the midst of a fearful tempest, 
on his "Fortunate Day"— the anniversary of Dunbar and 
Worcester. His last words were, " My work is done." 




MEDAL OF OLIVER CROMWELL. 



With liini, Puritanism, too, had apparently done its work. It seemed 
to sink out of sight beneath the tide of royalty that swelled high during 
the ensuing reign ; but the careful reader of history will see that its best 
survived, and that it bequeathed to England, as well as to our own New 
England, its earnestness, its fidelity, its firmness, its devotion to the 
right, and its love of liberty. 

The Friends, or Quakers, arose at this time through the 
teachings of G-eorge Fox. He denounced war, asserted the 
brotherhood of all men, declined to take an oath in court, 
used the second person singular in addressing others, and 
refused to uncover his head in any presence. His followers 
were persecuted, but their zeal, patience, and purity of life 
gained the admiration even of their enemies. The number 
of Friends increased rapidly, and, upon the founding of 
Pennsylvania, many emigrated to the New World. 



200 THE SEVENTEEN'TH CENTUET. [1658. 

Richard Cromwell succeeded bis father in the protec- 
torate, but he was only a good-natured, easy soul, with no 
idea how to govern, and soon retired to private life. The 
army was all-powerful, and it seemed at one time as if the 
scenes at Kome when soldiers set up the crown at auction, 
might be renewed in England. At this juncture, General 
Monk, who commanded in Scotland, marched to London, 
and, under his protection, the old Long Parliament met, 
issued writs for a new election, and finally dissolved itself 
(1660). A new Parliament was assembled. Charles IL was 
invited to the throne of his ancestors. 

The Restoration. — Charles IL (1660-85) was welcomed 
with a tumult of joy. No conditions were imposed; the year 
of his accession was styled, not theirs/, but the tiveJfth of 
his reign, and the restored Stuart was made as absolute as 
any Tudor.* 

Tlie Reaction. — From Puritan austerity, which forbade not 
only theatrical representations but even Christmas festivities 
and the dance about the May-pole on the village green, the 
people now rushed to the opposite extreme of revelry and 
frivolity. Giddiest of all was the Merry Monarch. King 
and court alike made light of honor and virtue. In the 
plays then acted upon the stage, ridicule was poured upon the 
holiest ties and the most sacred principles. 

England was in a very delirium of royalty. The es- 
tablished church was restored, and two thousand ministers 
were exiDelled from their pulpits as Nonconformists. To 
attend a dissenting place of worship, became a crime for 
which men were whipped, imprisoned, and transported. 

* The dreaded Puritan army of 50,000 men now quietly went bacli to tlieir shops 
and fields. Everywhere the gallant soldiers prospered. Not one of them begged for 
alms or was charged with crime. So it came about that, " If a baker, a mason, a 
wagoner, attracted attention by his diligence and sobriety, he was, in all probability, 
one of Oliver's old followers." History knows only one other such event. That 
was at the close of our own Civil War (Hist. U. S., p. 281). 



1665.] Ei^^GLAND UNDER THE STUARTS. 201 

In SeotUiiid, the people genenilly* submitted to the new 
order of things, but along the western lowlands the stern old 
Covenanters, sword and Bible in hand, continued to meet 
their former pastors upon lonely moor and mountain, and, 
though hunted like wild beasts and tortured by thumb-screw 
and iron-boot, still insisted upon their right to worship God 
according to the dictates of their own consciences. 

The Plague broke out in London in 1665. The shops were 
shut, whole blocks stood empty, and grass grew in the streets. 
Houses in w^iich the pestilence raged were marked with a 
red cross, and the words, '' Lord have mercy upon us." All 
night long the carts rattled through the streets, with a tolling 
bell and the burier's dismal cry, " Bring out your dead." 
No coffins were used ; no mourners followed their friends ; 
and deep trenches served for graves. To add to the horror 
of the scene, a strange, wild-looking man constantly stalked 
up and down the deserted city, calling out ever and anon in 
a sepulchral voice, " Oh, the great and dreadful God ! " 
Before the plague was stayed, one hundred thousand per- 
sons had perished in the capital alone, and large numbers in 
other places. 

The Great Fire of London broke out in the following 
year. It raged for three days, and swept from the Tower to 
the Temple. Two hundred thousand people were driven to 
the open fields, homeless and destitute. f 



* The change that had taken place is well shown by a single instance. When 
Archbishop Laud sought to introduce a liturgy into Scotland, on the occasion of the 
first readiug of prayers in Edinburgh, one Jenny Geddes inaugurated civil war (1637) 
by hurling a stool at the Dean's head. Now Jenny cast the contents of her stall and 
basket into a bonfire in honor of the King's coronation and the subsequent action 
of Parliament. 

+ Singularly enough, the fire began in Pudding Lane, near Fish St., and stopped at 
Pie Corner. It is probable that some association of these names led to an inscription 
which formerly existed under a very fat, human figure, still to be seen against the 
wall of a public house near by : " This boy is in memory put up of the late fire of 
I^ondon occasioned by the sin of gluttony, 1666." 



202 THE SEYENTEEl!^TH CEl^TURY. [1667. 

Dutch War. — During these calamitous years, a war was 
goiug on with Holland — England's rival in commerce. 
Charles squandered upon his pleasures the money Parliament 
voted for the navy, and now the Dutch fleet sailed up the 
Thames, and, for the first and last time, the roar of foreign 
guns was heard in London. That *' dreadful sound" broke 
the dream of royalty. But other events were hastening the 
ruin of Charles's popularity, as well as bringing Protestant 
England into alliance with Protestant Holland. 

Charles and Louis XIV. — At this time, France, under 
Louis XIY., had become what Spain was under Phi- 
lip n., the strongest power in Europe and the champion 
of absolutism and Catholicism. A dread of France had 
replaced the old English dislike of Spain. Charles, however, 
did not share in his subjects' fear. Even when his people 
forced him to join the Triple Alliance, he was privately ne- 
gotiating with his cousin Louis, to whom he had already 
sold Dunkirk— the Gibraltar of that day — in order to fill his 
always-empty purse; and, though Parliament was wild to aid 
William of Orange in his gallant struggle, Charles signed 
with France the secret Treaty of Dover (1670), agreeing to 
establish Catholicism in England, and to help Louis in his 
schemes against Holland, while Louis, in turn, promised his 
cousin an annual pension, and the assistance of the French 
army should England resist. 

Plots. — Some inklings of this treaty had been whispered 
about, when the English people were driven frantic by news 
of a so-called '"' Popish Plot " to massacre the Protestants, 
and to bring over French troops. One Titus Oates, a rene- 
gade Jesuit, pretended to reveal the scheme, and his per- 
jured testimony, amid the heat of the excitement, cost the 
lives of many innocent Catholics, and led to the passage of 
the Test Act, excluding Catholics from Parliament. 



1678.] 



ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS, 



203 




James, Duke of 

York, the king's 
brother and heir 
to the crown, was 
a Catholic, and 
personally very 
unpopular.* The 
"Whigs t resolved 
to shut him out 
from the throne. 
They even planned 
an insurrection, 
and a few desper- 
ate ones formed 
what is called the 
Rye House Plot 
to assassinate the 
king and his broth- 
er. The discovery of this plan brought to the block Lord 
Eussell and the patriotic and upright Algernon Sidney. | 

The result of these odious plots was to weaken the Whigs, 
and bring the Tories to the front. Charles was thus able, 
for the last four years of his reign, to rule without a Parha- 
ment, and to push his despotic schemes. He regularly drew 
his pension from Louis and helped him as he could, but, 
shrewd and intelligent in spite of his idle and pleasure-lov- 

* One day he cautioned his brother Charles about going unattended, but received 
the bitter retort, " They will never kill me to make you king." 

t This name, given first in reproach, meant '' sour milk," a favorite drink of the 
Covenanters. The Whigs, in general, favored the rights of the people. They were 
opposed by the Tories, a name originally applied to the outlaws of the Irish bogs, 
but now meaning those who supported the court and the royal prerogative. 

X Out of the hot discussions of this period came the famous Habeas Corpus Act, a 
Latin phrase meaning, " You may have the body." This law, still in force, requires 
a judge to issue a writ to bring a prisoner before him, whenever demanded for trial. 
Prior to that, Mary Queen of Scots lay in prison nineteen years uncondemned. Sir 
Walter Raleigh languished in a dungeon more than twelve years. 



TITUS GATES IN THE PILLORY. 
(From a Print of the Time.) 



204 THE SEYEl^TEEKTH CEI^TUEY. [1681-5. 

ing nature, he never attempted to overthrow the established 
rehgion of England.* 

James II. (1685-'88) came to the throne without opposi- 
tion. He soon showed that he had but one aim— to restore 
Catholicism. To accomplish this end, he resorted to illegal 
measures, and strained the royal prerogative to the utmost. 
At this time, Louis XIV. had just revoked the edict of 
Nantes, and the persecuted Huguenots were flocking to Eng- 
land. Yet James ventured to raise a large and threatening 
standing army, and, though forty-nine-fiftieths of the Eng- 
lish were Protestants, to flood every department of govern- 
ment with his Catholic favorites. In vain, the pope coun- 
selled moderation and the Catholic gentry stood aloof. The 
English people submitted, however, as they knew that the 
next heir— James's daughter Mary, wife of WilUam of 
Orange — was a Protestant. But the birth of a Prince of 
Wales f destroyed this hope. Thereupon, both Whigs and 
Tories united in inviting William to come to the defence 
of the liberties of England. 

The "Revolution of 1688," — William was welcomed 
almost as gladly as Charles II. had been twenty-eight years 
before. James, deserted by all, fled to France. A Conven- 
tion proclaimed William and Mary king and queen of Eng- 
land. They agreed to a Bill of Rights that guaranteed all 
for which the people had so long contended. Thus was the 

* He even rebuked the zeal of his brother James and said in his ironical way, " I 
am too old to go again upon my travels ; you may, if you choose." It is strange that 
Charles, with all his cleverness, did not connect his name with any valuable measure 
of his reign. Shaftesbury's epigram was but too true : 

" Here lies our sovereign Lord the king, 

Whose word no man relies on; 
Who never said a foolish thing, 
And never did a wise one." 
t On the death of James, Louis XIV. recognized this son as the rightfal successor 
(James m.). The Whigs called him the " Pretender.'''' In history he is known as the 
" Old Pretender ; '''' and his son, the '•'■Young Pretender''"' (Charles III.). Charles's 
brother (Henry IX.) was the last male heir of the 3tuart line, 



1688.] ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS. J>05 

English Revolution, whicli began with the Civil War, termi- 
Dated after a struggle of eighty-five years. The government 
was finally fixed as a constitutional monarchy. Nothing 
was afterward heard of the divine right of kings, of taxation 
without consent of Parliament, or of Star Chamber courts 
of justice. 

The deposed king returned to Ireland with supplies fur- 
nished by Louis, and the Irish gallantly supported his cause. 
He besieged Londonderry, but the inhabitants defended them- 
selves over three months. In the extremity of their hunger, 
they greedily ate rats and mice, and even chewed old shoes 
and hides, yet never breathed the word surrender. At last, 
the English fleet broke through the boom in the river, and 
the besiegers fled. William finally crossed into Ireland, and 
ended the war by the Battle of the Boyne (1690), where, 
though wounded, he dashed through the river, and led 
the charge. James, seeing all was lost, took to flight. 
'^Change kings with ns," said a brave Irish officer, "and 
we will fight you again." Once more Ireland was conquered, 
and the native Catholics were ground down under English 
oppression. 

William III. (1689-1702) was weak and sickly from the 
cradle ; his manner was cold, stiff, and unattractive ; and, 
in spite of his genius and nobility of character, he made few 
friends in England. The death of Mary, whose wifely devo- 
tion had sunk her life in his and whose cheerfulness had 
brightened his dull court, left him still more silent and 
abstracted. The entire reign was disturbed by plots of the 
Jacobites — the friends of James. They took the oath to 
William and joined his counsels only to reveal his plans to 
his enemies. William valued his crown chiefly because it 
strengthened him in carrying out the object of his life — to 
break the power of Louis XIV. In order to gain support in 



206 THE SEVENTEENTS CEKTUBT. [170^. 

his European wars, he yielded power to the House of Com- 
mons, which became what it is to-day, the real governing 
body. While preparing to take tlie field in the War of the 
Spanish Succession, he died, leaving the crown to Mary's 
sister, 

Anne (1702-'14).— "Good Queen Anne," the last of the 
Stuarts, was kind-hearted, but of moderate ability, and was 
ruled by her favorite, the wife of the Duke of Marlborough. 
William's policy being continued, Marlborough * was placed 
at the head of the army ; within five years he achieved four 
great victories over France (p. 187). There was a constant 
struggle between the Whigs — the war party, and the Tories 
— the peace party. The former thought of the future inter- 
ests of the country ; the latter, of the constantly growing 
national debt. Finally, the Tories gained the ascendency, 
Marlborough was recalled, and the Peace of Utrecht ended 



* The character of Marlborough— the general who stayed the progress of France, 
and who successively betrayed William III., James II., and Queen Anne— is thus 
brilliantly portrayed by Thackeray, in his novel Esmond: "Our chief , whom Eng- 
land and all Europe, saving only the Frenchmen, worshiped almost, had this of the 
godlike in him, that he was impassible before victory, before danger, before defeat. 
He was always cold, calm, resolute, like fate. He performed a treason or a court 
bow, he told a falsehood as black as Styx, as easily as he paid a compliment or spoke 
about the weather. Our duke was as calm at the mouth of the cannon as at the door 
of a drawing-room. Perhaps he could not have been the great man he was, had 
he had a heart either for love or hatred, or pity or fear, or regret or remorse. He 
achieved the highest deed of daring, or deepest calculation of thought, as he per- 
formed the very meanest action of which a man is capable ; he cheated a fond woman, 
or robbed a poor beggar of a halfpenny, with a like awful serenity. He used all men, 
great and small, that came near him, as his instruments alike, and took something of 
theirs, either some quality or some property : the blood of a soldier it might be, or a 
jeweled hat, or a hundred thousand from a Ifing, or a portion out of a starving senti- 
nel's three-farthings, and having this of the godlike in him, that he could see a hero 
perish or a sparrow faU, with the same amount of sympathy. Not that he had no 
tears ; he could always bring up his reserve at the proper moment to battle ; he could 
draw upon tears and smiles alike, and whenever need was for using this cheap coin. 
He would cringe to a shoeblack, as he would flatter a minister or a monarch ; be 
haughty, be humble, threaten, repent, weep, grasp your hand, or stab you, whenever 
he saw occasion. But yet, those of the army who knew him best, and had suffered 
most from him, admired him most of all ; and, as he rode along the lines to battle, or 
galloped up in the nick of time to a battalion reeling from before the enemy's charge 
or shot, the fainting men and officers got new courage as they saw the splendid calm 
of his face, and felt that his will made them irresistible." 



1714] THE CIVILIZATION. 207 

the long contest with Louis. Anne's health was affected by 
the dissensions of her ministers, and, on her death in 1714, 
the crown passed, by act of Parliament, to the House of 
Hanover. 

The chief political event of this- reign was the union of 
Scotland with England as the Kingdom of Great Britain 
(1707). 

THE CIVILIZATION. 

Progress of Civilization.— The second century of tlie Modern 
Era was cliaracterized by the development of literature and science, as 
the sixteenth had been by that of commerce and art. 

Literature. — English Literature still flourished. Shakspere yet 
stood at the front, and in the first decade composed his sublime trage- 
dies. Next, Fletcher, Beaumont, and "Rare Ben Jonson " followed 
their master from afar. Jeremy Taylor wrote Holy Living and Dying ; 
Richard Baxter — a famous Puritan author — published his Saints' Rest ; 
and the quaint Isaac Walton, his Compleat Angler. After the Resto- 
ration, there were Dryden, prince of satirists; Butler, author of the 
witty Hudibras ; and John Locke, whose Essay on the Human Under- 
standing remained a text-book in mental philosophy until almost our 
own day. Milton, who had been secretary to Cromwell, now penned, in 
blindness and poverty, the immortal epic, Paradise Lost ; while Bunyan, 
shut up in Bedford Jail for conscience' sake, dreamed out Pilgrim's 
Progress — a book that has been more read than any other save the 
Bible. 

French Literature now reached its climax. " No other country," says 
Macaulay, " could produce a tragic poet equal to Racine, a comic poet 
equal to Moliere, a trifler so agreeable as La Fontaine, a rhetorician so 
skilful as Bossuet. Besides these, who were easily first, there were 
Pascal, whose Provincial Letters created a standard for French prose ; 
Fenelon, whose Telemachus still retains its wonderful popularity ; Boi- 
leau, who has been styled the Horace of France ; Madame de Sevigne, 
whose graceful Letters are models of epistolary style ; and Massillon, 
who pronounced over the grave of Louis XIV. a eulogy ending with 
the sublime words, " God alone is great. " 

Philosophy now boasted, in England, Bacon, the author of the Induc- 
tive Method that teaches men to observe the facts of Nature and thus 
deduce her laws. France possessed Descartes, who, by leading men to 
reason for themselves rather than to search for authority, performed 
for metaphysics the same service that Bacon had for natural science. 



208 



THE SEVEKTEEI^TH CEKTtTItt. 




PORTRAITS OF DRYDEN, MILTON, AND BUNYAN. 



Holland had Spinoza, whose sublime speculations have influenced 
many of the profoundest thinkers of the world; though, as Hallam 
remarks, " he did not essentially differ from the Pantheists of old." 
Germany contained the fourth great leader, Leibnitz, in whose encyclo- 
paedic mind philosophy, medicine, theology, jurisprudence, diplomacy, 
and mathematics were all arranged in orderly sequence. He developed 
the theory of optimism — that of the possible plans of creation God had 
adopted the one which economized time, space, and matter„ 

Science made rapid strides throughout this entire century. Galileo 
invented the telescope and was the first to see Jupiter's moons. The 
year that Galileo died, Newton was born (1642). He wrote the Princi- 
pia, explained the theory of colors, and discovered the law of gravita- 
tion ; yet this wonderful man was so modest that a short time before 
his death he declared "I seem to myself to have been only a boy play- 
ing on the sea-shore, * * while the great ocean of truth lies undiscov- 
ered before me." Every branch of science felt the inspiration of the 
new method. Torricelli of Florence invented the barometer ; and 
Guericke of Magdeburg, the air-pump. Harvey discovered the circula- 
tion of the blood (1619). Napier, by means of logarithms, shortened 
mathematical operations. Huyghens applied the pendulum to the 
clock. Pascal found that the air has weight. Kepler worked out his 
three famous laws of planetary motion. Horrox observed a transit of 
Venus. Roemer measured the velocity of light. Halley foretold the 
return of a comet. Louis XIV. established the French Academy of 
Sciences ; and Charles H., the English Royal Society. Science became 




tHE CIVILIZATIOK. 209 

tlie fashionable thing under the later Stuarts. There was a royal 
laboratory in the palace at Whitehall, and even the court ladies prated 
of magnets and microscopes. 

Art. — The Netherlands now excelled in art, the Flemish and Dutch 
schools possessing- that wonderful trio — Rubens, Vandyke, and Rem- 
brandt. Velasquez and Murillo were the great Spanish painters. Italy 
presented nothing better than Salvator Rosa. England had a famous 
architect— Sir Christopher Wren — who planned St. Paul's Cathedral 
and fifty churches destroyed in the Great Fire in London; but her 
native painters were of little ability, and the famous portrait of 
Charles I. was by Vandyke, the Flemish artist, as in the previous 
century those of the Tudors were by Holbein, a German. 

LOUIS XIV. AND HIS COURT. 

The " Grand Monarch" had extravagant ideas of the royal pre- 
rogative, and claimed absolute right over the life and property of every 
subject. His favorite motto was, 
" I am the state." Vain, imperi- 
ous, self -asserting, with large, 
handsome features, a fine figure, 
and a majestic manner,* he made 

himself the model for artists, the ^..,as=«io»=— ^ — ~ — — ' -—--...^^ 

theme for poets, the one bright signature of louis xiv. 

sun whose rays all other bodies 

were to reflect. It was only by the grossest flattery, and by ascribing 
every success to him that his ministers retained their places ; and the 
slightest affront by any government was the signal to set in motion his 
mighty fleet and army. The absurd adulation poured in the ear of the 
English Queen a century before was repeated in the fulsome flattery at 
Versailles, and found as welcome reception. " That which amazeth me 
is that after all these years I do behold you the self-same queen, in per- 
son, strength, and beauty ; insomuch that I am persuaded that time, 
which catcheth everybody else, leaves only you untouched," unblush- 
ingly affirmed even the prosaic Cecil, when Elizabeth was faded, 

* " He wa]ked," says White, " with the tramp of dignity, rolling his eyes and turn- 
ing out his toes, while the courtiers burst into loud applause. The red heels of his 
shoes, four inches high, added nauch to his stature, hut yet did not bring him up to 
the standard of ordinary men. In imitation of their royal master, all gentlemen tied 
themselves in at the waist, stuck out their elbows, and walked with a strut. They 
also wore immense wigs covered with flour, flowing over their shoulders, and silver- 
buckled shoes that came nearly up to the ankle. A hat It was impossible for a con- 
jurer to balance on the top of the enormous periwig, so they carried the three-cor- 
nered cockaded superfluity under the arms or in their hands. Rich velvet coats, with 
amazingly wide skirts, brocaded waistcoats half way to the knee, satin small-clothes 
and silk stockings, composed their apparel, which received its crowning adornment 
in gold-headed cane and dlamond-hilted sword." 



210 



THE SEVEN^TEEKTH CENTURY, 




COURT OF LOUIS XIV. 



wrinkled, and nearing her seventieth year. " Ah, Sire, the rain of 
Marly does not wet," protested the dripping Cardinal de Polignac, 
when caught in a shower at the exclusive " rural retreat," fitted up by 
Louis and Madame de Maintenon in the king's old age. 

The Court Etiquette was inflexible, from the morning presentation 
(at the end of a long cane and through the parting of the undrawn bed- 
curtains) of the royal wig without which His Majesty was never seen, 
down to the formal tucking-in of the royal couch at night. Above all, 
everywhere and always, it was The King who was the etiquette, the art, 



THE CIVILIZATION". 2ll 

the fasliion of the day. His courtiers prostrated themselves at liis feet 
like the slaves of some Oriental despot. To be allowed to accompany 
him in his \valks, to carry his cane or sword, to hold a taper during his 
toilette, to draw on the royal shoes, or even to stand and watch the rob- 
ing of the monarch, were honors to live and die for. Never sated with 
the most servile flattery, he complacently inhaled the incense due to a 
demi-god. 

The Palace at Versailles, built at an expense of over eighty 
million dollars, was the creation of the king, and is a symbol of his own 
character. Vast, ambitious, but coldly monotonous in effect ; magnifi- 
cent in decoration ; recklessly extravagant in the means by which its 
end was attained, and seeking to embrace the brilliancy of the entire 
kingdom in its own circumference, it was the Mecca of every courtier. 
Stone and marble here became an endless series of compliment and hom- 
age to the royal person, and the acres of elaborate ceiling, painted by Le- 
brun, are a continued apotheosis, casting all Olympus at the royal feet. 

The garden, with its long straight avenues bordered by alternating 
trees and statues, and stretching out beyond the visible horizon ; its 
colossal fountains, where bronze or marble nymphs, dolphins, tritons, 
and sea-monsters play with water brought at immense cost from a far 
distance ; its grand cross-shaped canal ; its terraces and orangeries ; its 
flower-beds and grove-embowered lakes, all arranged with stately regu- 
larity, seems but an indefinite prolongation of an interminable palace. 

A Brilliant Court peopled this magnificent abode. Poorly edu- 
cated himself — being scarcely able to read or write, much less to spell 
— Louis was munificent in his awards to men of genius, while he appro- 
priated their glory as his own. A throng of philosophers, statesmen, 
writers, scientists, poets, and painters clustered about the throne ; and 
French thought, tastes, and language were so impressed upon foreign 
nations that all Europe took on a Parisian tinge. Here, too, were 
women of unusual wit and beauty, whose power was felt in every pub- 
lic act. Social deference and gallantry — led by the king, who, it is said, 
never passed a woman, even a chambermaid, without lifting his hat — 
gave them the political rights denied by law. They were the head and 
soul of all the endless intrigues of the time. Again, as in the days of 
chivalry, a woman's smile was the most coveted reward of valor ; and 
political schemes were wrought out, not in the cabinet of a statesman, 
but in the salon of a lady. Conversation, in this brilliant circle, was 
made an art. " We argue and talk, night and day, morning and even- 
ing, without object, without end," wrote Madame de Sevigne, herself 
one of the most distinguished wits of the day. Letter- writing also 
became a passion, and the graceful epistles of this century are a fit 
sequel to the spicy memoirs of the preceding one, 

Qj common consent, the latter part of the 17tli century is known in 
history as the Age of Louis XIV, 



212 



THE SEVEKTEEKTH CENTUEf, 



SUMMARY. 

The seventeenth was the century of Richelieu, Gustavus Adolphus, 
Louis XIV., Cromwell, the Stuarts, Milton, Corneille, Bacon, Newton, 
Galileo, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Murillo. It saw the assassination of 
Henry IV. ; the Thirty-Years War, the victories of Turenne and Conde ; 
the Treaty of Westphalia ; the long struggle between Louis XIV. and 
William of Orange ; three great wars of the Age of Louis XIV. ; the 
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes ; the rise of Puritanism ; the battles 
of Naseby and Marston Moor ; the Execution of Charles I. ; the glories 
of the Protectorate ; the restoration of the Stuarts ; and the Revolution 
of 1688. 

READING R EFER EN CES. 

General Modern Histories named on p. 123, and the Special Histories of England, 
France, Germany ^etc.^ on p. HI.— Macaulay''s History of England {Chapter III., for 
Picture of Life in the Seventeenth Century).— Schiller'' s History of the Thirty-Tears 
War.— Gardiner'' s Thirty-Tears War; and the Puritan Bevolution ; HaWs Fall 
of the Stuarts {Epochs of History Series).— Voltaire'' s Age of Louis XIV.— Ban- 
croft's History of the United States {chapters relating to English statesmen and 
their views). — Taine''s Ancient Eegim,e.— Browning'' s Great Rebellion {Handbook 
of History Series).— Hausser's Period of the Eeformation {Thirty-Tears War).— 
Trench's Lectures on Gustavus Adolphus.— Cordery and Phillpotf's King and Com- 
monwealth.- Motley'' s John of Barneveld {Sully and Henry IV.).—Eobson''s Life 
of Richelieu.— Bulwer Lytton's Richelieu {drama).— James^ s Memoirs of Great Com- 
manders {Conde and Turenne).— James^ Life of Louis XlV.— ClemenVs Life of 
Colbert.— Mackaif s Popular Delusions, art. The Mississippi Scheme, South Sea Bubble, 
etc.— Stephen's Lectures on F?'ench History.— Pardoe's Louis XIV. — Challice''s Mem- 
ories of French Palaces. — James's Heidelberg ; Richelieu {fiction).— Rambaud's His- 
tory of Russia from the Earliest Times. —Dunham's Histories of Poland ; Spain 
and Portugal ; and Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.— Walpole's Short History of the 
Kingdom of Ireland. 

C H RONOLOGY. 



A. D. 

Union of English and Scottish 

crowns under James 1 1603 

Henry IV. assassinated 1610 

Thirty- Years War 1618-'48 

Age of Richelieu 1623-'42 

Siege of Rochelle 1628 

Gustavus Adolphus lands in Pome- 

rania 1630 

Siege of Magdeburg 1631 

Battle of Leipsic 1631 

Battle of Ltitzen, death of Gustavus 1632 

Long Parliament meets 1640 

Battles of Rocroi, Freiburg, Nord- 

lingen, and Lens 1643-''8 

Louis XIV 1643-1715 



A. D. 

Battle of Marston Moor 1644 

Battle of Naseby 1645 

Peace of Wes^tphalia 1648 

Charles I. beheaded 1649 

Battles of Dunbar and Worcester. 1650-'51 
Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector. .1653-'8 

Great Fire in London, 1666 

Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 1668 

Peace of Nimeguen 1678 

Habeas Corpus Act passed 1679 

Peter the Great >. 1682-1725 

Edict of Nantes revoked 1685 

WiUiam and Mary crowned 1689 

Treaty of Ryswlck 1697 

Charles XII, King of Sweden 1697 



COKTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS 



213 



CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 



ENGLAND. 

James 1 1603 



Charles I. 



1625 



FRANCE. 

Henry IV.... 15S9 
Louis XIII.. 1610 



C'monwealth 1&49 
Charles II... 1660 
James II ... . 1685 
William and 
Anne 1689 



Louis XIV 



1643 



GERMANY. 

Rudolph 1.576 

Matthias .... 1612 
F'rdinand II. 1619 
F'rdin'ndlll. 1037 

Leopold L... 1658 



SPAIN. 

Philip III.... 1598 

Philip I v.... 1621 

Charles II... 1665 




THE PALACE OF THE LUXEMBOURG. 



214 THE EIGHTEEifTH CENTURY. 

THE EIG-HTEENTH CENTURY. 

I. PETER THE GREAT OF RUSSIA. AND CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN. 

Russia was founded in the ninth century by the Norse- 
man, Ruric. The Greek religion was introduced by his 
daughter-in-law, Olga. This Slavic land was repeatedly 
overrun by Mongol hordes, and finally conquered by Oktai 
(p. 99). For over two centuries the house of Ruric paid 
tribute to the Khau of the Golden Horde. Ivan the Great 
(1462-1505) threw off this Tartar yoke, and subdued Nov- 
gorod ; while Ivan the Terrible (who first took the title of 
Gzar, 1533-'84) conquered Kazan, Astracan, and Siberia. 
Feoclor, Ivan's son, was the last of the Euric line (1598). 
After years of civil war, the crown fell to Michael 
Romanoff, ancestor of the present czar (1613). Russia 
was now a powerful but barbarous empire, having only one 
seaport. Archangel, and without manufactures or a navy. 
Shut off by the Swedes from the Baltic and the Turks from 
the Black Sea, it had little intercourse with the rest of 
Europe until the time of 

Peter the Great. — From the age of ten, when he be- 
came joint-king with his demented half-brother, this youth- 
ful czar was plotted against by his unscrupulous step-sister, 

Geoff}'aphical Questions ,—'Loc9X<i Azof. Copenhagen. Moscow. Pnltowa. 
Frederickshall. Warsaw. Dettingen. Fontenoy. Kaucaux. Lawfelt. Lowositz. 
Kolin. Kossbach. Leuthen. Zorndorf. Kunersdorf. Torgau. Leignitz. Huberts- 
burg. Potsdam. Berlin. 

Point out Brandenburg. Livonia. Finland. Electorate of Saxony. Silesia. Ingria. 

Locate Valmy. Jemmapes. Neerwinden. Lyons. Nice. Lodi. Parma. Pavia. 
Castiglione. Bassano. Arcole. Mantua. Mt. Cenis. Simplon Pass. . Marengo. 
Vienna. Hohenlinden. Ulm. Jena. Austerlitz. Eylau. Friedland. Tilsit. Tala- 
vera. Torres Vedras. Saragossa. Salamanca. Vittoria. Madrid, Wagram, 
Dresden, Borodino. Moscow, Leipsic. Ligny. Waterloo, 



1689.] 



PETER THE GREAT OP RUSSIA 



215 




PORTRAIT OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE. 



the regent Sophia. When seventeen years old, he grasped 
the sceptre for himself (1689).* At once he began to civilize 
and eleyate his savage subjects. Having organized some 
troops after the European manner and built a small flotilla, 
he sailed down the Don and captured Azof, the key of the 
Euxine, and Russia's first seaport on the south. He next 
resolved to visit foreign countries and learn the secret of 
their progress. 

Visit to Western Europe. — Leaving the government in 
the hands of an old noble, he accordingly went to Amster- 

* The year of the devastation of the Palatinate by Louis XIV. ; also, that in 
which England secured a constitutional government under William III. 



316 THE EIGHTEEITTH CENTURY. [1697. 




dam, where he hired as a la- 
borer in a ship-yard. Under 
the name of Peter Zimmer- 
mann, he plied his adze, 
earned his regular wages, 
lived in two rooms and a gar- 
ret, mended his clothes, and cooked his own food. Mean- 
while, besides learning how to build a ship, he studied the 
manufactures and institutions of this famous Dutch city, 
where he picked up blacksmithing, enough of cobbling 
to make a pair of slippers, and of surgery to bleed and 
to pull teeth. Then, crossing to England, he was 
heartily received by William III., and presented with a 
fine yacht, which he soon learned to manage with the 



1698.] CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEK. 217 

best of the sailors. On his return to Russia, Peter began 
his 

Great Reforms. — He connmanded his subjects to give up 
their long beards and flowing Asiatic robes. He lessened 
the power of the nobles. He encouraged the women of 
rank to come out of their oriental seclusion and mingle in 
society. He granted religious toleration and circulated the 
Bible. He introduced arithmetic into the government 
offices, where accounts had previously been kept by a system 
of balls threaded on wire. He set up printing-presses; 
founded schools, hospitals, and paper factories ; built a fleet, 
and organized an army. In order to gain a port on the 
Baltic, he leagued with Denmark and Poland to dismember 
Sweden. 

Charles XII., the " Madman of the North," then king 
of Sweden, though but eighteen years old was boyish only 
in age, while the Swedish army retained the discipline that 
under Gustavus had won the fields of Leipsic and Liitzen. 
Undismayed by his triple foes, Charles swiftly marched to 
attack Copenhagen, and in two weeks brought Denmark to 
his feet ; next, advancing with only nine thousand men 
against the sixty thousand Russians who were besieging 
ISTarva, he defeated them with great slaughter ; then, invad- 
ing Poland, he deposed its monarch, Augustus the Strong 
(1704),* and, pursuing him into his Saxon electorate, forced 
him to sue for peace. Charles was now at the pinnacle of 
his glory. England and France sought his alliance, and 
the conqueror of Blenheim visited his court. 

Peter, when he learned of the defeat at Narva, coolly said, 

* "It is impossible to avoid comparing the occupations and amusements of the 
three strong men of this time. Charles riding horses to death and beheading sheep 
and bullocks in order to practice with his sword ; Augustus the Strong straightening 
horse-shoes and rolling up silver plates with one hand ; and Peter hammering out 
iron-bars, filling fire-works and building ships." Read Schuyler's " Peter the Great," 
in Scribher's Monthly, Vol. 21. 

10 



218 THE eightee:n^th century. [1709. 

" These Swedes^ I knew, would beat us for a time, but they 
will soon teach us how to beat them." He now strained 
every nerve to strengthen his forces while Charles was 
triumphing in Poland. He disciplined his soldiers, and 
even melted the bells of Moscow, to cast cannon. He cap- 
tured l^arva, the scene of his first misfortune ; pushed the 
Swedes back from the banks of the Neva ; and there, amid 
its marshes, founded a great commercial city — St. Peters- 
burg. Three hundred thousand peasants were set at work 
upon the new capital, and within a year it rose to impor- 
tance. 

Charles's Overthrow. — Eejecting every offer of peace, 
Charles, like a greater warrior a century later (p. 262), 
dreamed of dictating a treaty under the walls of Moscow, 
and rashly invaded Eussia. Peter's skirmishers hung on 
the flanks of the Swedish army, destroying the roads and 
laying waste the country. Still Charles pressed on, even 
through a winter so severe that two thousand men once froze 
to death almost in his presence. At Pultoiua Peter gave 
him battle (1709). Though wounded, Charles was borne 
to the field in a litter ; when that was shattered by a 
cannon-ball, his gallant soldiers carried him about u|)on 
their pikes. But the Swedes had at last taught the Eussians 
how to conquer. Charles was overpowered, and escaped 
into Turkey with only three hundred men. 

There he staid nearly five years, while his kingdom, deprived 
of its head, went to ruin. The Turks at first espoused his 
cause ; but, irritated by his pride and obstinacy, finally re- 
solved to expel their unwelcome guest. The heroic madman 
armed his servants, barricaded his house, and with his own 
sword slew twenty of his assailants before he submitted. 

When at last he returned home, he found Sweden shorn 
of its conquests and exhausted by war. But, carried away 



1718.] PETER THE GREAT OF RUSSIA. 21'J 

by an insane love of glory, he invaded Norway in the depth 
of winter. Europe watched with amazement the course of 
the infatuated monarch. Suddenly, news came that he had 
been shot in the trenches at Frederickshall (1718).* 

Peter's latter Years were full of patriotic labors. As 
the result of his Swedish war, he gained Ingria, Livonia, 
and a part of Finland, thus affording Russia a broad front 
upon the Baltic. By a war with Persia, he won land upon 
the Caspian sea. Still his work of civilization went bravely 
on. A grateful people bestowed upon him the titles of 
the Great, and the Father of his Country. His last act was 
one of mercy. While wading out to rescue some ship- 
wrecked sailors, he caught a fever of which he died. He 
expired in the arms of his wife Catharine, f who succeeded 
him to the crown of all the Russias (1725). 

Further Additions of territory were made by Catharine 
(II.) the Great, who conquered the Crimea, and thus gained 
control of the Black sea. She also, in conjunction with Austria 
and Prussia, dismembered Poland. The Poles, under Ponia- 
tow^ski and Kosciusko (U. S. Hist., p. 122), took a heroic 
stand in defence of their liberties. But the valor of these 
brave patriots, armed with scythes, hatchets, and hammers, 

* " On what foundation stands the warrior's pride, 
How just his hopes, let Swedish Charles decide : 
A frame of adamant, a soul of fire, 
No dangers fright him, and no labors tire. 
* * * * 

Peace courts his hand, but spreads her charms in vain ; 
' Think nothing gained,' he cries, ' till naught remain.' 
■•f * * * 

His fate was destined to a barren strand, 
A petty fortress and a dubious hand ; 
He left a name at which the world grew pale. 
To point a moral or adorn a tale." 

— Johnson^ s Vanity of Human Wishes. 
t She was an orphan peasant girl, who fascinated Peter by her beauty. Though 
she could neither read nor write, yet her merry humor, quick intelligence, and kind 
heart held the love of this "barbarian tyrant," and soothed him in his terrible fits 
of stormy rage and hate. 



220 THE EIGHTEElsTTH CENTURY. [1794-'5. 

served only to increase tlie horror of their country's ruin. 
In his intrenched camp before Warsaw, Kosciusko for a time 
held his swarming foes at bay; but, overpowered at last, 
bleeding and a captive, he exclaimed, " This is the end of • 
Poland." Prophetic w^ords ! The next year, Poland was 
finally "partitioned" between Eussia, Prussia, and Austria, 
Russia receiving of the robbers' spoils 181,000 square miles. 
It was the greatest crime of the 18th century. But this 
vast addition of territory brought Russia into the center of 
Europe, and gave her an interest in all its affairs. , ^^^ 

II. RISE OF PRUSSIA, AND THE AGE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Brandenburg (p. 80), to which the duchy of Prussia had 
been added, made little figure in history until the time of 
Frederick William, the Great Elector (1640-'88). A rapid, 
clear-eyed man, he dexterously used his compact, well disci- 
plined little army, amid the complications of that eventful 
period, so as to conserve the Brandenburg interests. He en- 
couraged trade, made roads, and welcomed the Huguenots 
whom Louis XIV. drove from France. In the first year of 
the 18th century, his son Frederick received from Leopold I., 
in return for furnishing the emperor troops during the War 
of the Spanish Succession, the title of King of Prussia. 

HOUSE OF BRANDENBURG IN PRUSSIA. 

Frederick William, the Great Elector (1640-'88). 
Frederick I., King of Prussia (1688-1713). 

Frederick William I. (1713-'40). 

I 



Wi 



Frederick II. (1740-'86). Augustus William. Henry. 

Frederick William II. (1786-'97). 



Wi: 



Frederick William III. (1797-'40). Lewis. 

1 



Frederick William IV. (1840-'61). William I. (3861). 

Frederick William Nicholas. 



1718.] THE RISE OF PRUSSIA. 221 

Frederick William I. (1713-40), whom Carlyle calls the 
" Great Prussian Drill Sergeant," practiced the most rigid 
economy in order to increase his army. He permitted 
only one extravagance — a whim for giants. A tall man he 
would bribe, kidnap, or force into his body-guard, at any 
cost.* He left a well-filled treasury, and eighty-four 
thousand soldiers to his son, 

Frederick (II.) the Great (1740-'86).t— The young 
prince had seemed to be more a poet and philosopher than a 
"born king," but he now revealed himself as a military 
despot, counseling with no one, confiding in no one, and 
having but one object, the aggrandizement of Prussia. 

War of the Austrian Succession (1741-48). — The same 
year Frederick came to the throne, the emperor Charles VI. 
died, leaving his daughter Maria Theresa mistress of the 
hereditary dominions of the House of Austria — Hungary, 
Bohemia, Austria, etc. By a law known as the Pragmatic 
Sanction, the great powers of Europe had guaranteed her 
succession, but now all except England joined to rob her of 
her inheritance. Frederick at once poured his troops into 
Silesia, which he claimed as having formerly belonged to Bran- 



* An Irishman, seven feet high, was hired by a bounty equal to $6,200, a larger 
sum than the salary of the Prussian ambassador at the court of St. James. 

t Frederick's father possessed "eccentricities such as," says Macaulay, "had 
never before been seen outside of a mad-house." He would cane clergymen who 
ventured to stop in the street to admire his famous soldiery ; and even kick judges 
off the bench for rendering a decision opposed to his wishes. On one occasion, he 
tried to push his daughter into the fire, and for the least complaint from his children 
at the table he would throw the dishes at their heads. The Crown Prince, Frederick, 
excited the king's bitterest animosity. Frederick showed little love for a military 
life ; liked finery ; studied Latin clandestinely ; played the flute ; wore long, curly 
locks ; and preferred the French language and manners to the homely German. His 
father flogged him in front of his regiment, and then taunted him with the disgrace. 
At last, Fritz's life became so unendurable that he tried to run away, but he was ar- 
rested, condemned by court-martial, and would have been executed by the irate king, 
had not half the crowned heads in Europe interfered. Afterward, Fritz contrived to 
soften the hatred of his surly, irascible father, and, in the end, proved a filial 
sequel to him, in his hearty hatred of shams, his love of a military life, and even his 
slovenly dress and Irritable temper. 



222 



THE EIGHTEEKTH CENTURY. 



[1741. 



denbnrg. The elector of Saxony 
inyaded Bohemia. France sup- 
ported the claims of the elector 
of Bavaria to the imperial crown, 
and a French-Bavarian army 
pushed to within a few leagues 
of Vienna. Fleeing to the Diet 




FREDERICK THE GREAT REVIEWING HIS GRENADIERS AT POTSDAM. 



of Hungary, the queen commended to it her infant son. 
The brave Magyar nobles, drawing their sabres, shouted: 
'^We will die for our king, Maria Theresa." A powerful 
army was formed- in her defence. Frederick was bought off 
by the cession of Silesia. The French, left single-handed 
to bear the brunt of the battle, were blockaded in Prague, 



1743.] THE AGE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. 223 

and, at last, only by a disastrous flight escaped to the fron- 
tier. George II. now took the field at the head of the 
English and Hanoverian troops, and defeated the French at 
Dettingen. 

Frederick, alarmed at Maria Theresa's success and think- 
ing she might demand back his conquests, resumed the war, 
and gained three battles in succession. Meanwhile, the elec- 
tor of Bavaria died, his son submitted to Maria Theresa, 
and her husband was chosen emperor as Francis I. Fred- 
erick was only too glad to sign with Francis the Peace of 
Dresden and thus retain Silesia. 

But the struggle of France with Austria and England 
still went on. Louis XV. 's army in the Netherlands, under 
the famous Marshal Saxe, won the brilliant victories of 
Fontenoy, Raucaux, and Lcmfelt. The peace of Aix-la- 
Chapelle (1748) closed this unjust war. Louis, saying that 
he treated as a prince and not as a merchant, surrendered 
his conquests ; so that France and England acquired 
nothing for all their wasie of blood and treasure, while the 
king of Prussia, whose selfish policy began the contest, was 
the only real gainer. 

Seven-Years War (1756-63). — Eight years of peace now 
followed — a breathing-spell that Frederick employed in 
improving his newly-acquired lands, and in strengthening 
his army. Maria Theresa, however, was determined to re- 
cover Silesia, and, by the help of her great minister Kaunitz, 
formed an alliance of Austria, France, Russia, Saxony, Swe- 
den, and Poland against Prussia. George II. of England, in 
order to save his beloved Hanover, alone supported Fred- 
erick. lN"o one imagined Prussia could meet such tremen- 
dous odds. 

1st Campaign. — Frederick, learning of this league, determined to 
strike the first blow. Pouring his ever-ready army into Saxony, he 



224 THE EIGHTEENTH CEKTURY. [1756. 

defeated the Austrians aXLo'wositz (1756), and, surrounding tlie Saxons, 
compelled them to surrender and enlist in liis ranks. 

2nd Campaign. — The next year, he beat the Austrians under the walls 
of Prague. But now misfortunes gathered fast. He met his first great 
defeat at Kolin; the Russians invaded Prussia ; the Swedes landed in 
Pomerania; the French, after capturing the English army in Hanover, 
advanced toward Saxony ; and, in the midst of all, came tidings of the 
death of his mother, the only being whom he loved. In despair,'^ Fred- 
erick thought of suicide, but his highest glory dates from this gloomy 
hour. Rallying his men and his courage, he turned upon his foes, and 
won the victories of Bossbach over the French, and Leuthen over the 
Austrians. His genius set all the world to wondering. London was 
ablaze in his honor, and Pitt, the English prime-minister, secured him 
a grant of £700,000 per annum. 

The 3rd Campaign witnessed as signal a victory over the Russians 
at Zorndorf, but saw Frederick beaten at Kanersdorf, while twenty 
thousand of his men surrendered in the Bohemian passes. 

4th-6th Campaigns. — Now, for three years longer, the circle steadily 
narrowed about the desperate king. Surrounded by vastly superior ar- 
mies, he multiplied his troops by flying from point to point. Beaten, 
he retired only to appear again in some unexpected quarter. He broke 
through the enemies' toils at Leignitz, and stormed their intrenched 
camp at Torgau. 

But victory and defeat alike weakened Frederick's forces ; his capital 
was sacked; his land wasted; his army decimated ; his resources were 
exhausted , and it seemed as if he must yield, when a death saved him. 
Elizabeth, empress of Russia, died, and her successor, Peter III., his 
warm friend, not only withdrew from the league, but sent him aid. 
The other allies were weary of the contest, and the proud Maria The- 
resa was forced to make peace with her hated rival. The Treaties of 
Paris and Hubertsburg (1763) ended this gigantic struggle that had cost 
a million of lives. 

The Result of the Seyen- Years War was to leaye Silesia in 
Frederick's hands. He was felt to be one of the few great 
men whose coming into the world changes the fate of a 
conntry. Prussia, from a petty kingdom that nobody feared, 
was raised to be one of the Five Great Powers of Europe. 

* lu this extremity, Frederick solaced himself bywriting poetry. "We hardly 
know," says Macaulay, " any instance of the strength and weakness of human na- 
ture so striking and so grotesque as the character of this haughty, vigilant, resolute 
blue-stocking, bearing up against a world in arms, with an ounce of poison in one 
pocket and a quire of bad verses in the other." 



1763.] THE AGE OF FllEDElMOK THE GREAT. 225 

Slic was now the rival of Austria. The question which 
should be supreme was not settled until onr own time.* 
The Holy Roman Empire was thenceforth, in effect, divided 
between these two leaders, and the minor German states 
were grouped about them according to their interest or 
inclination. 

Government. — Frederick quickly set himself to repair 
the waste of these terrible years. He practised the most 
rigid economy, rebuilt houses, furnished seed, pensioned 
the widows and children of the slain, drained marshes, 
constructed roads and canals, established museums, and 
deyeloped trade. When he inherited the kingdom, it con- 
tained two millions of inhabitants, and a treasury with six 
million thalers ; he died, leaving an industrious and happy 
people numbering six millions, and a public treasure of 
seventy-tw^o million thalers. f 



* The " Seven- Years W^ar " made Prussia a European power ; a " Seven-Weeks 
War" (1366) placed it above Austria; and a " Seven-Montlis War" (1870) made the 
king of Prussia emperor of all Germany. 

+ One of his last acts was to make a treaty with our young republic ; and our his- 
torians record with pride that he sent to Washington a sword inscribed, " The oldest 
general in the world to the bravest." Like his father, he was fond of walking or rid- 
ing through the streets, talking familiarly with the people, and now and then using 
his cane upon an idler. On one occasion, he met a company of school-boys, and 
roughly addressed them, " Boys, what are you doing here ? Be off to school." One 
of the boldest answered, " Oh, you are king, and don't know there is no school to- 
day ! " Frederick laughed heartily, dropped his uplifted cane, and gave the urchins 
a piece of money with which to enjoy their holiday.— A windmill at Potsdam stood 
on some ground which he wanted for his park, but he could not get it because the 
miller refused to sell, and he, though absolute monarch, would not force him to leave. 
This building is carefully preserved to-day, as a monument of Frederick's respect for 
the rights of a poor man (Taylor's Hist, of Germany). The famous palace at Potsdam 
was built by Frederick, just after the Seven- Years War, to show the world that he 
was not so poor as was supposed. It is second only to the palace of Versailles, 
Building was Frederick's sole extravagance. After the war, he had only one fine 
suit of clothes for the rest of his life. It is said that he was buried in a shirt belong- 
ing to a servant. He allowed free speech and a free press. " My people and I," said 
he, " understand each other. They are to say what they like and I am to do what I 
like." He tolerated all religions— probably because he cared for none himself. His 
infidelity, his hatred of woman, his disregard of the feelings and lives of others, 
and his share in the spoliation of Poland (p. 219), form the dark side of this brilliant 
character, and leave us no chance to love, however highly we may admire. 



226 THE EIGHTEEKTH CENTURY. [1714 

III. ENGLAND UNDER THE HOUSE OF HANOVER. 

The House of Hanover, which still wears the crown 
of England, came to the throne early in the 18th century. 
Parliament^ when changing the succession from the Stuart 
line, to secure a Protestant king, selected George, elector of 
Hanover, great-grandson of James I. and grandson of the 
Winter King of Bohemia. 

The characteristics of the political history of England 
under the Georges were the increased power of the House of 
Commons and the bitter strife between the Whigs and the 
Tories. The 18th century saw also our own Revolutionary 
War with England. 

TABLE OF THE HANOVER (BRUNSWICK-LUKEBURG) LINE, 

Geoege I. (1714-'27). Compare Table, p. 188. 

George IL (1727-'60). 

Geobge m. (1760-1820), grandson of George II. 



Geoege IV. (1820-'30). William IV. (1830-'37). Edwaed, duke of Kent. 

ViCTOEIA (1837). 

George I. (1714-27), a little, elderly German, unable to 
speak a word of English, cold, shy, obstinate, and sullen ; 
whose manners. were as bad as his morals; whose wife was 
imprisoned for some alleged misconduct ; and whose heart 
was always in his beloved Hanover, — naturally excited little 
feeling of loyalty among his British subjects. He was, how- 
ever, frugal, industrious, truthful, and governed by a strong 
sense of duty. A despot in Hanover, he was a moderate 
ruler in England, leaving the control of the country mostly 
to Parliament. Having been elected by the Whigs, he chose 
his ministers from that party. 

The South Sea Scheme, or Company, was organized (1720) 
to assume a part of the National Debt, and, in return, to 



^f^ >/ '^\~ IJ 20 ^o® 40 

"^^^ <^T^^*^-t T^yfc TIC/ OvvX J 





lueast scRvoss j 



1720.] ENGLAND — THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 22*7 

have a monopoly of the South American trade. It brought 
on a rage for speculation. The shares rose to ten times their 
par value. Finally, the bubble burst, a panic ensued, and 
thousands were ruined. In this emergency, all eyes turned to 

Robert Walpole, who was made prime-minister. His finan- 
cial skill restored the public credit. For over twenty years 
(1721-'42) he controlled the domestic policy of the country. 
He was a dexterous party-leader, and is said to have managed 
the House of Commons by bribery ; but his policy made for 
peace and liberty, and, meanwhile, England prospered. 

George II. (1727-60) could speak a little English, and so 
had the advantage over his father. He possessed, however, 
no kingly virtues except justice and bravery ; while his 
attachment to his native country kept him interfering in 
continental affairs.* England was thus dragged into the 
War of the Austrian Succession, and the Seven-Years War. 

In the War- of the Austrian Succession, George beat the 
French at Dettingen; f his second son, the Duke of Cum- 
berland, was beaten by them at Fontenoy. The Peace of Aix- 
la-Chapelle, that closed this contest, gave England no recom- 
pense for the blood and gold her king had lavished so freely. 

During the Seven-Years War, England and France meas- 
ured their strength mainly by sea, and in America and India. 
This contest is known in our history as the French and 
Indian War (U. S. Hist, p. 81). It culminated in the Bat- 
tle of the Plains of Abraham that wrested Canada from the 

* George was always running over to Hanover. Once he was gone two years, while 
Queen Caroline remained in England. During his absence, a notice was posted on the 
gate of St. James's. palace : '' Lost or strayed out of this house a man who has left his 
wife and six children on the parish. A reward is offered of four shillings and six- 
pence for news of his whereabouts. Nobody thinks him worth a crown (five shil- 
lings)." 

t George was a dapper little choleric sovereign. At Dettingen, his horse ran away 
and he came near being carried into the enemy's line. Dismounting, he cried out, 
" Now, I know I shall not run away," and, charging at the head of his men, he encour- 
aged them with bad English but real pluck. It was the last time an English king was 
seen in battle. 



228 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. [1757. 

French. In Asia, Kobert Clive, by the victory of Plassy 
(1757), broke the French power and laid the foundation of 
J]ngland's supremacy in the East.* 

William Pitt, the G-reat Commoner (afterward Earl- of 
Chatham), came to the front during these Colonial Wars. 
He ruled by the strength of his character, and '^trusting his 
countrymen," says Cardiner, '^ aboye that which they were 
able to do, roused them to do more than they had ever done 
before." Under his vigorous premiership, England won two 
empires — North America and India. 

The Rise of Methodism was a remarkable event of this 
reign. It began at Oxford, in the meeting of a little band 
of University members for prayer and religious conversation. 
Their zeal and methodic ways gave them the nickname of 
Methodists. But from that company went forth Whitefield 
— such a preacher as England had never seen, Charles 
Wesley — the ^' Sweet singer," and John Wesley — the head 
and organizer of the new movement. " Their voice was 
heard," says Green, "in the wildest and most barbarous 
corners of the land, among the bleak moors of Northumber- 
land, in the dens of London, or in the long galleries where 
the Cornish miner hears in the pauses of his labor the sob- 
bing of the sea." They were mobbed, stoned, and left for 
dead, but their enthusiasm stirred the heart of England, 
aroused men to philanthropic work among the English 
masses, gave to common life a spiritual meaning, started 
evangelical labors in the established church, and founded a 
denomination that in our time numbers its members by 
millions. 

* The warB in India have been characterized by fiendish cruelty. Thus, in the 
year preceding Plassy, the nabob of Bengal drove one hundred and forty-six English 
prisoners into a close room twenty feet square (known as the Black Hole), and left 
them to die of suffocation. The next morning only twenty-three persons remained 
alive. It is noticeable that England in first meddling with, and then absorbing, prov- 
ince after provliice in India, has followed the old Roman plan (Anc. Pec, p. 237). 



1760.] ENGLAND — THE HOUSE OF IIAN^OVER. 



229 




GEORGE III. 



George III. (1760-1820) was 
a •' born Englishman," and those 
people who had so long been 
grumbling about their foreign 
kings now transferred their al- 
legiance from the Stuarts to 
the reigning sovereign. The 
Tories got control of the govern- 
ment. Pitt retired from the 
ministry. 

The purity and piety of 
George's private character gave 
to the English court a beautiful home-life. But, though a 
good man, this " Best of the Georges " did not prove a good 
king. He was dull, illy-educated, prejudiced, obstinate, and 
bent upon getting power for himself. Jealous of great men, 
he brought about him incompetent ministers like Bute, 
Grenville, and North — mouth-pieces of his stupid will and 
blind courage. In such an administration, one easily finds 
the causes that cost England her American colonies. 

This was the longest reign in English history, and reached 
far into the 19th century. Late in his life (p. 277), the king 
became insane * and the Prince of Wales ruled as regent. 
The sixty years saw England involved in the War of the 
American Eevolution, the French Eevolution, and the War 
of 1812-14. The wars in our own country we have already 
studied in the history of the United States ; and the French 
Revolution will be treated under France. 



* History presents no sadder figure than that of the old man, blind and deprived 
of reason, wandering through the rooms of his palace, addressing imaginary parlia- 
ments, reviewing fancied troops, and holding ghostly courts. * * * Some lucid mo- 
ments he had, in one of which the queen, desiring to see him, entered the room, and 
found him singing a hymn and accompanying himself at the harpsicord. Vfhen he 
had finished, he knelt down, and prayed aloud for her, for his family, and then for 
the nation. He concluded with a prayer for himself that it might please God to avert 
his calamity from him, but, if not, to give him resignation to submit. Upon that he 
burst into tears and again his reason fled. (Thackeray's Four Georges.) 



230 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. [1783-1801. 

Fox and Pitt the Younger were, after the Araerican Eevo- 
lution, the great statesmen of the day. The former led the 
Whigs ; the latter (second son of the great Commoner), the 
Tories. Fox possessed eloquence and ability, but he was a 
gambler and a boon-companion of the erring Prince of 
Wales. Pitt,* Fox's rival and his equal as an orator and 
statesman, became prime-minister at twenty-four years of 
age; his policy controlled the government for eighteen years 
(1783-1801). 

IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

Louis XV. (1715-74) was only five years old at the death 

of his great grandfather, the Grand Monarch. The regency 



N.® I40^7y CentUvresToumoh* 

JL« A Banqtcte promet pj^er aa Porteur a vUe Cent livres Toumois 
en E^eces d'Argent, valeur refetie. A Paris le premier Janvier mil 



Bourgeois' 





FAC-SIMILE OF LAW'S PAPER MONEY. 



fell to the Duke of Orleans — a man without honor or prin- 
ciple. The public debt was enormous, and the government 
had no credit. To meet the emergency, Orleans adopted the 
project of John Law, an adventurer, who issued a vast 
amount of paper-money upon the security of imaginary 

* Pitt's character was unimpeacbable. Thus, while his own income was but £300 
per year, a sinecure post with £3000 per annum became vacant, and, as he had the 
power of filling it, every one supposed he would appoint himself to the place. In- 
stead, he gave it to Col. Barre, who was old and blind. When Pitt retired from the 
ministry he was poor. (Compare Aristides in Anc. Peo., p. 135.) 



1720.J 



TUE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



231 




LOUIS XVI., MARIE ANTOINETTE, AND THE 
DAUPHIN. 



mines in Louisiana. But tiie Mississippi Bubble, like the 
South Sea Scheme (tiie same year) in England, burst in 
overwhelming ruin. 

A71 Era of Sha?ne. — Louis 
early plunged into vice. The 
real rulers of France were his 
favorites, Madame de Pompa- 
dour, and later, the Comtesse 
du Barri. The world had not 
seen such a profligate court 
since the days of the Roman 
emperors. The War of the 
Austrian Succession and the 
Seven- Years War had de- 
prived France of vast posses- 
sions and added hundreds of millions to the already hopeless 
debt. Louis foresaw the coming storm, and, with Pompa- 
dour, repeated, "After me the deluge;" yet he sanctioned 
the most iniquitous schemes to raise money for his vices, 
and silenced all opposition by the dungeons of the Bastile. 
Louis XVI. (1774-'93), a good, well-meaning young man, 

but shy and wofully ig- 
norant of public affairs, 
succeeded to this heritage 
of extravagance, folly, 
and crime, — a bankrupt 
treasury and a starving 
people. His wife, Marie 
Antoinette, daughter of 
Maria Theresa, though 
beautiful and innocent, 
was of the hated House 
of Austria, and her gay 




PORTRAIT OF TURCOT. 



232 



THE EIGHTEENTH CEl^TTURY. [1774-'89. 




PORTRAIT OF NECKER. 



thoughtlessness added to 
the general discontent. 
Louis desired to redress 
the wrongs of the country, 
but he did not know how.* 
Minister succeeded minis- 
ter, like the shifting figures 
of a kaleidoscope. Turgot, 
Necker, Oalonne, Brienne, 
Necker again, each tried in 
vain to solve the problem. 
As a last resort, the States- 
General— which had not 
met for one hundred and seventy-five years — was assembled. 
May 5th, 1789. It was the first day of the Eevolution. 

The Condition of France at this time reveals many causes of 
the Revolution. The people were overwhelmed by taxation, while the 
nobility and clergy, who owned two-thirds of the land, were nearly 
exempt. The taxes were ''farmed out," i. e. leased, to persons who 
retained all they could collect over the specified amount. The unhappy 
tax-payers were treated vrith relentless severity, to swell the profits of 
these farmers-general. Each family was compelled to buy a certain 
amount of salt, whether needed or not. The laws were enacted by 
those who considered the common people born for the use of the higher 
class. Justice could be secured only by bribery or political influence. 
Men were sent to prison, without trial or charges, and kept there till 
death. When the royal treasury needed replenishing, a restriction of 
trade was imposed, and licenses were issued for even the commonest 
callings. The peasants were obliged to labor on roads, bridges, etc., 
without pay. In some districts, every farmer had thus been ruined. 
Large tracts of land were declared game-preserves, where wild boars 
and deer roamed at pleasure. The power given to the noble over 
the peasants living on his estate was absolute. Lest the young game 
might be disturbed or its flavor impaired, the starving peasant could 
neither weed his little plot of ground nor suitably enrich it. He must 
grind his corn at the lord's mill, bake his bread in the lord's oven, and 



* A princess of the royal family being told that the people had no bread, ex- 
claimed in all simplicity, " Then, why not give them cake 1" 



THE FRENCH II E V O L U T I O.N . 



233 




FRENCH FAGOT-VENDER. 

(Kigliteenth Ceutury.) 



press his grapes at the lord's 
wine-i)ress, paying whatever 
price the lord might charge. 
When the wife of the seigneur 
was ill, the peasants were ex- 
pected to beat the neighboring 
marshes all night, to prevent the 
frogs from croaking, and so dis- 
turbing the lady's rest. French 
agriculture had not advanced be- 
yond that of the 10th century, 
and the plow in use might have 
belonged to Virgil's time. To 
complete the picture of rural 
wretchedness, one hundred and 
fifty thousand serfs were bought 
and sold with the land on which 
they were born. 

The strife between classes had 
awakened an intense hatred. 
The nobles not only placed tlieir haughty feet on the necks of the 
peasants, but also spoke contemptuously of the opulent merchants, and 
artisans. In turn, the wealthy merchants hated and despised the spend- 
thrift, dissolute, arrogant hangers-on at court, whose ill-gotten revenues 
were far below their own incomes from business. 

A boastful skepticism prevailed, and all 
that is amiable in religion or elevating in 
morals was made a subject of ridicule. 
The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, Hel- 
vetius, Diderot, and other infidels, with 
their brilliant and fascinating theories of 
liberty, weakened long- cherished truths, 
mocked at virtue, and made men restive 
under any restraint, human or divine. 

Democratic ideas were rife. The despot^ 
ism of the king was unendurable to men 
who had imbibed the intoxicating prin- 
ciples of liberty then current, and espe- 
cially to those who had just helped the 
United States to win its freedom (Hist. 
U. S., p. 127). Louis XVI. might have 
delayed, but could not have averted, the impending catastrophe. The 
Revolution was not a sudden and unexpected event. It was the blos- 
soming of a seed planted long before, and of a plant whose slow and 
sure growth thoughtful men had W3.tched for ye^rs. 




FEMALE HEAD-DKESS. 
(Eighteenth Century.) 



234 



THE EIGHTEENTH CENTUEY. 



[1789. 



1. ABOLITION OF THE MONARCHY. 

" '^he National Assembly. — The tiers etat, proving to be 
the most powerful body m the States-General^ invited the 
nobles and clergy to join it, and declared itself the National 
Assembly.* Louis closed the hall; whereupon the members 
repaired to a Tennis court near by, and swore not to sepa- 
rate until they had given France a constitution. Soon, the 
weak king yielded, and, at his request, the coronets and mitres 
met with the commons. The court decided to overawe the 
refractory Assembly, and collected thirty thousand soldiers 
about Versailles. 

The Paris Mob, excited by this menace to the people^s 

representatives, rose in 
^g ^y^^ arms, stormed the grim 
old Bastile, and razed 
its dungeons to the' 
ground. The insur- 
rection swept over the 
country like wild-fire. 
As in the days of the 
Jacquerie, chateaux 
were burned, and tax- 
gatherers tortured to 
death. Finally, a mad- 
dened crowd, crying 
Bread ! Bread ! surged out to Versailles, sacked the palace, 
and, in savage glee, brought the royal family to Paris. 
Various political clubs began to get control. Chief of these 
were the Jacobin and the Cordelier (Hist. France, p. 206), 
whose leaders — Robespierre, Marat, and Dan ton, preached 
sedition and organized the revolution. 

* This step is said to have been taken by tbe advice of Thomas Jefferson, our 
minister plenipotentiary to France, 




THE BASTILE. 



178l).j 



THE FREN^CH REVOLUTION. 



235 




SCENE IN PARIS AFTER THE STORMING OF THE BASTILE. 



Reforms (1789-'91).*— The. Assembly, in a furor of 
patriotism, extinguished feudal privileges, abolished serfdom, 
and equalized taxation. The law of primogeniture was abro- 
gated ; titles were annulled ; liberty of conscience and of the 
press was proclaimed, and France was divided into eighty- 
three departments instead of the old provinces. 

* " It was plain that the First Estate must bow its proud head before tlie five-and- 
twenty savage millions, make restitution, speak well, smile fairly— or die. The 
memorable 4th of August came, when the nobles did this, making ample confession 
of their weakness. The Viscomte de Noailles proposed to reform the taxation by 
subjecting to it every order and rank ; by regulating it according to the fortune of 
the individual ; and by abolishing personal servitude and every remaining vestige 
of the feudal system. An enthusiasm, which was half fear and half reckless excite- 
ment, spread throughout the Assembly. The aristocrats rose in their places and 
pnblicy renounced their seignorial dues, privileges, and immunities. The clergy 
abolished tithes and tributes. The representative bodies resigned their municipal 
rights. All this availed little ; it should have been done months before to have 
weighed with the impatient commons. The people scorned a generosity which 
relinquished only that which was untenable, and cared not for the recognition of a 
political equality that had already been established with the pike." (Miss Edwards's 
History of France.) 



236 THE EIGHTEBZi^^TH CEKTUBY. [1791. 

The estates of the clergy were confiscated, and, upon this 
security, notes (assign ats) were issued to meet the expenses 
of the government. Having adopted a constitution, the 
Assembly adjourned, and a new body was chosen, called 

The Legislative Assembly (1791). — The mass of its 
members were ignorant and brutal. The most respectable 
were the Girondists, who professed the simplicity and exalted 
virtue of the old Roman republic. The Jacobins, Cordeliers, 
and other violent demagogues were fused, by a common 
hatred of the king, into one bitter, opposing party.* 

Attack upon the Tuileries. — Austria and Prussia now 
took up arms in behalf of Louis and invaded France. This 
sealed the fate of monarch and monarchy. Louis was known 
to be in correspondence with the princes and the French 
nobles who had joined the enemy. The approach of the 
allies, and especially the threats of the Prussian general, 
kindled the fury of the Parisian masses. The Girondists 
made common cause with the Jacobins in stirring up the 
rabble to dethrone the king. The Marseillaise was heard 
for the first time in the streets of Paris. The palace of 
the Tuileries was sacked ; the Swiss guards, faithful to the 
last, were slain ; and Louis was sent to prison. 

The Jacobins were henceforth supreme. They arrested 
all who opposed their revolutionary projects. The prisons 
becoming filled, hired assassins went from one to another 
for four days of that terrible September, massacring the 
unhappy inmates. A thirst for blood had seized the popu- 
lace, and women eagerly occupied the seats placed where 
they could witness this carnival of murder. 

Battle of Valmy (1792). — In the midst of these terrible 



* It was called the Mountain, because its members occupied the highest seats in 
the hall ; the name Jacobin, however, was commonly applied, that being the most 
powerful organization. 



179^\] THE FIIENCH E EVOLUTION. 237 

events, the Prussian army was checked at Valmy, and, soon 
after, it recrossed the frontier. Tlie victory of Jemmapes 
over the Austrians followed, and Belgium was proclaimed a 
republic. 

Tlie effect of these successes was electrical. The leaders 
of the revolution were elated, and the nation was encouraged 
to enter upon a career of conquest that ultimately led it to 
the Kremlin. 

The National Convention. — The next Assembly estab- 
lished a republic in France. "Louis Capet," as they insisted 
upon styling the king, was arraigned, and, in spite of the 
timid opposition of the Girondists, was condemned and 
guillotined. The bleeding head of the gentle monarch fell 
amid savage shouts of Vive la Republique ! 

2. THE KETGN OF TERROR (1793-'4). 

Jacobin Rule. — Nearly all Europe leagued to avenge 
Louis's death. England was the soul of this Coalition, and 
freely gave to it her gold and arms. The royalists held 
Marseilles, Bordeaux, Lyons, and Toulon. An insurrection 
burst out in the province of La Vendee. But the terrible 
energy of the Convention broke down all opposition. A 
Committee of Public Safety was appointed which knew 
neither fear nor pity. Revolutionary tribunals were set up, 
before which were dragged those suspected of moderation or 
of sympathy with the "aristocrats." Every morning the 
tumbrils carried to the place of execution the victims of the 
day. Marie Antoinette, prematurely gray, mounted the 
same scaffold on which her husband had perished. The 
Girondists were overwhelmed in the ruin they had aided in 
creating. At Lyons, the work of the guillotine proved too 
tedious, and the victims were mowed down by grape-shot ; 
at Nantes, boat-loads were rowed out and sunk in the Loire. 



238 



THE EIGHTEENTH CEKTUET. 



[1793. 




GIRONDISTS ON THE WAY TO EXECUTION. 

In the midst of the carnage a new calendar was instituted, to date 
from September 23, 1792, which was to be the first day of the year 
1, the epoch of the foundation of the republic. New names were 
given to the months and days ; Sunday was abolished, and every tenth 
day appointed for rest and amusement. Worship was prohibited. 
Churches and convents were desecrated, plundered, and burned. Mar- 
riage was declared to be only a civil contract, which might be broken at 
pleasure. Notre Dame was converted into a Temple of Eeason, and a 
gaudily-dressed woman, wearing a red cap of liberty, was enthroned as 
goddess. Over the entrance to the cemeteries were inscribed the words : 
Death is an eternal sleep. 



Fate of the Terrorists. — Marat bad already perished 
—stabbed by Charlotte Oorday, a young girl who gladly 
gave up her life to rid her country of this monster. Danton 
now showing signs of relenting, his ruthless associates 
sent him to the scaifold. For nearly four dreadful months 
Robespierre ruled supreme. He aimed to destroy all the 
other leaders. The axe plied faster tban ever as he went 



1794. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION". 



239 




ROBESPIERRE. 



on "purging society" b}' mur- 
der. The accused were forbid- 
den defence, and tried en masse.^ 
At last, impelled by a common 
fear, friends and foes combined 
to overthrow the tyrant. A fu- 
rious struggle ensued. When 
Eobespierre's head fell (July 
28, 1794), the Eeign of Terror 
ended. 

A Reaction now set in. 
The revolutionary clubs were 
abolislied ; the prison doors 

were flung wide ; the churches were opened; the surviving 
Girondists were recalled, and the emigrant priests and 
nobles invited to return. 

Triumph of the French Arms (1794-'95).— While the 
Terrorists were sending long lines of victims to the scaffold, 
the defenders of the new republic were pouring toward the 
threatened frontiers. During the pauses of the guillotine, all 
Paris accompanied the troops outside the city gates, shouting 
the Marseillaise. PichegTu, Hoche, Jourdan, and Moreau 
led the republican armies to continued success. La Vendee 
was pacified, Belgium overrun, and the Rhine held from 
Worms to Mmeguen. Even winter did not stop the prog- 
ress of the French arms. Pichegru led his troops across the 
Meuse upon the ice, and, conquering Holland without a bat- 
tle, organized the Batavian Republic. Peace was made with 
Prussia and Spain, but England and Austria continued the 
war. 



* In the national archives of Paris, the author has seen an order of execution 
which was signed in blank and afterward filled up with the names of twenty-seven 
persons, one of them a boy of sixteen. a 



240 



THE EIGHTEENTH CEIsTTURY. 



[1795. 



Establishment of the Directory. — It had become 

apparent that the 
union in one legis- 
lative house of the 

„r„B msa^m. yr^MfT ^ jfy^mk three orders in the 

/{"^^^^ AliKIM^ >^M!l States-General was a 

mistake. It was, 
therefore, decidedto 
have a Cou7icil of 
Five Hundred to 
propose laws, and a 
Council of the An- 
cients to pass or to 
cosiumiiS ui- laE itiK.EE ukjjil«.o. reject tnem. xne 

executive power was 
lodged in a Directory of five persons. 

The Day of the Sections (October 5, 1795).— The Con- 
vention, in order to secure its work, decreed that two-thirds 
of each Council should be appointed from its own number. 
Thereupon, the royalists excited the Sections (as the munici- 
pal divisions of Paris were called) to rise in arms. General 
Barras (ra), who was in command of the defence, called to 
his aid Napoleon Buonaparte.* This young officer skilfully 




* Napoleon Buonaparte was bom at Ajaccio, Corsica, August 15, 1769, two months 
after the conquest of that island by the French. (It is claimed, however, that, not wish- 
in g to be foreign-born, he changed the date of his birth.) His father, Charles Buona- 
parte, was a law- 
yer of straitened 
means. We read 
that, when the fu- 
ture soldier was a 
child, his favorite 
plaything was a 
small brass can- 
non, and that he 
loved to drill the 
children of the 
neighborhood to battle with stones and wooden sabres. At ten, he was sent to the 




FAC-SIMILE OF THE SIGNATURE OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE, 
MUSEE DES ARCHIVES NATIONALES, PARIS. 



1795.] 



THE FRENCH DEVOLUTION 



241 



posted his troops about the Tuileries, and planted cannon 
to rake the approaches. His pitiless guns put the insurgents 
to flight, leaving five hundred of their number on the pave- 
ment. It was the last insurrection of the people. Their 
master had come, and street tumults were at an end. 



3. DIRECTORY. 

The Glory of the 

Directory lay in the 
achievements of its sol- 
diers. Napoleon Buona- 
parte, though only 
twenty-six years old, was 
put at the head of the 
army which was to in- 
vade Italy, then defended 
by the Austrian and Pied- 
montese armies. Hence- 
forth, for nearly twenty 
years, his life is the his- 
tory of France, almost 
that of Europe. 

Italian Campaign (1796- 7).— Buonaparte found, at Mce, 
the French army of thirty-eight thousand men destitute of 

military school at Brienne. Resolute, quarrelsome, gloomy, not much liked by 
his companions, he lived apai't ; hut he was popular with his teachers, and became 
the head scholar in mathematics. At sixteen, he went to Paris to complete his 
studies. Poor and proud, discontented with his lot, tormented by the first stirrings 
of genius, he became a misanthrope. He entered the army as lieutenant, and first 
distinguished himself during the siege of Toulon. By skilfully planting his batteries, 
he drove off the English fleet and forced the surrender of that city. A few days 
after the disarming of the Sections, Eugene Beauharnais, a boy of ten years, came 
to Buonaparte to claim the sword of his father, who had fallen on the scaffold during 
the revolution. Touched by his tears, Buonaparte ordered the sword to be given 
him. This led to a call from Madame de Beauharnais. The beauty, wit, and grace 
of the Creole widow won the heart of the Corsican general. Their mutual friend, 
Barras, promised them, as a marriage gift, Buonaparte's appointment to the com- 
mand of the army of Italy. 




NAPOLEON BUONAPAKJE. 



242 THE EIGHTEENTH CKN"TUEY. [1796. 

everything, while in front was a well-equipped force of sixty 
thousand. But he did not hesitate. Issuing one of those 
electrical proclamations for whi'ch he was afterward so 
famous, he suddenly forced the passes of Montenotte, and 
pierced the center of the enemy's line. He had now placed 
himself between the Piedmontese and the Austrians, and 
could follow either. He pursued the former to within ten 
leagues of Turin, when the king of Sardinia, trembling for 
his crown and capital, stopped the conqueror by an armistice, 
which was soon converted into a peace, giving up to France 
his strongholds and the passes of the Alps. 

Battle of Zot/i. —Delivered from one foe, Buonaparte 
turned upon the other. At Lodi, he found the Austrians 
strongly intrenched upon the opposite bank of the Adda. 
Charging at the head of his grenadiers, amid a tempest of 
shot and ball, he crossed the bridge and bayoneted the can- 
noneers at their guns. The Austrians fled for refuge into 
the Tyrol mountains. 

Authorized Pillage. — Then commenced a system of 
spoliation unknown to modern warfare. Not only was war 
to support war, but also to enrich the victor. Contributions 
were levied upon the vanquished states. A body of savants 
was sent into Italy to select the treasures of art from each 
conquered city. The Pope was forced to give twenty-one 
millions of francs, one hundred pictures, and five hundred 
manuscripts. The wants of the army were supplied, and 
millions of money forwarded to Paris. The officers and 
commissioners seized provisions, horses, etc., without pay. 
A swarm of jobbers, contractors, and speculators hovered 
about the army, and gorged themselves to repletion. The 
Italians, weary of the Austrian yoke, at first welcomed the 
French, but soon found that their new masters, who came 
as brothers, plundered them like robbers. 



1790.] THE FRENCll REVOLUTION 



2^3 




BUONAPARTE AT THE BRIDGE OF ARCOLE. 



Battles of Castiglione and Bassano. — Sixty tlioiisand Aus- 
trians, under Wurmser, were now marching in separate divi- 
sions on opposite sides of Lake Garda, in order to envelop 
the French in their superior numbers. Buonaparte, throw- 
ing all his strength first to the left, checked the force on the 
western hank ; then turning to the right, routed the main 
body at Castiglione. Wurmser fell back into the Tyrol. 
Reinforced, he made a new essay. But ere he could debouch 
from the passes, Buonaparte plunged into the gorges of the 
mountains, and defeated him again at Bassano. 

Battle of Ar cole. — Two Austrian armies had disappeared ; 
a third now arrived under Alvinzi. Leavins: Verona with 



244 , THE EiaHTEEKTH CEl^tURt. [1796. 

only fourteen thousand men, Buonaparte took the road for 
Milan. It was the route to France. Suddenly turning to 
the north, he descended the Adige, crossed the riyer, and 
placed his army in the midst of a marsh, traversed only by 
two causeways. Fighting on these narrow roads, numbers 
were of no account. At the bridf^e of Arcole, Buonaparte, 
seeing his grenadiers hesitate, seized %anner, and exclaim- 
ing, "Follow your general,^' rushed forward. Borne back 
in the arms of his soldiers, during the ivelee he fell into the 
marsh, and was with difficulty rescued. A ford was finally 
found and the bridge was turned. A fearful struggle of three 
days ensued, when the Austrians, half destroyed, were put to 
flight. 

Battle of Bivoli. — Alvinzi, reinforced, again descended 
into Italy. Tiie principal army advanced in two columns, 
the infantry in one and the cavalry and artillery in the other. 
Buonaparte saw that the only point where they could unite 
was on the plateau of Eivoli As they debouched, he 
launched upon them Joubert, and then Massena.* Both of 
the enemy's columns recoiled in inextricable confusion. 

Having vanquished three imperial armies in Italy, Buona- 
parte next crossed the Alps, and advanced upon Vienna. 
The Austrian government, in consternation, asked for a sus- 
pension of arms. 

The Treaty of Campo Formio (1797) closed this famous 
campaign. Belgium was ceded to France, with the long- 
coveted boundary of the Rhine. Austria was allowed to take 
Venice and its dependencies. 

Neighboring Repviblics. — The Directory endeavored 
to control the neighboring states as if they were French 

* Massena's division fought at Verona on the 13th of January, marched all that 
night to help Jonbert who was exhausted by forty-eight-hours fighting, was in the 
battle of Rivoli the 14th, and marched that night and the 15th to reach Mantua on the 
16th. Marches, which with ordinary generals were merely the movements of troops, 
with Buonaparte meant battles, and often decided the fate of a campaign. 



1798.J 



THE FREI^Cn REVOLUTION 



245 



provinces; to change their form of government; and to 
exact enormous contributions. At the close of 1798, the 
Directory found itself at the head of no less than six repub- 
lics, including Holland, Switzerland, and Italy. 




THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. 



An Expedition to Egypt (1798-9) having been pro- 
posed by Buonaparte, the plan was gladly accepted by the 
Directory, already jealous of his rising fame. The conqueror 
of Italy set sail with thirty-six thousand men — the heroes of 
Eivoli and Arcole. Narrowly escaping the English cruisers 
under l^elson, the army safely landed near Alexandria.* 
Buonaparte at once pushed on to Cairo, defeating the Mame- 
lukes under the shadow of the Pyramids, f Bat, soon after, 
l^elson annihilated the French fleet in the Bay of Aboukir. 
Cut off thus from Europe, Buonaparte, dreaming of found- 
ing an empire in the East and overthrowing the British rule 
in India, turned into Syria. The walls of Acre, however, 
manned by English sailors under Sidney Smith, checked 
his progress ; and, after defeating the Turks with terrible 

* During this occupation of Egypt a French engineer discovered the Eosetta 
stone — the key to reading the Egyptian hieroglyphics. (Anc. Peo., p. 22.) 

t " Soldiers," exclaimed Buonaparte, " from yonder pyramids forty centuries look 
flown upon you." 



246 



THE EIGHTEEi^TH CENTURY. 



[1798. 



slaughter at the foot of Mount Tahor, he retreated across 
the desert to Egypt. There he secretly ahandoned his 
army, and returned to France. 

At Paris he was gladly welcomed. '^ Their Five Majes- 
ties of the Luxemburg," as the Directors were styled, had 
twice resorted to a coup 
cVetat,^ to preserve their 
authority in the Coun- 
cils. Foreign disgrace 
had been added to do- 




BUONAPARTE BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF FIVE HUNDRED. 

mestic anarchy. A Second Coalition (composed of England, 
Austria, Eussia, etc.) having been formed against France, 
the fruits of Oampo Formio had been quickly lost. The 
French armies, forced back upon the frontier, were in want. 
A panic of fear seized the people. The hero of Italy offered 
the only hope. A new coup d'etat was planned. Buona- 



* This is a word for which as yet, happily, we have no English equivalent. It is 
literally, "a stroke-of-state." 



1799.] THE CIVILIZATION. 247 

parte's grenadiers drove the members of the Council of Five 
Hundred from their chamber, as Cromwell's soldiers had 
driven the Long Parliament a century and a half before. 
The roll of the drums drowned the last cry of Vive la 
RepuUique. 

A new Constitution was now adopted. The government 
was to consist of a Council of State, a Tribune, a Legisla- 
ture, a Senate, and three Consuls — Buonaparte and two 
others named by him. In February, 1800, the First Consul 
took up his residence in the Tuileries. The revolution had 
culminated in a despot. 

THE CIVILIZATION. 

The Progress of Letters.— Queen Anne's reign was the 
Augustan Age of English Literature. Questions of party politics, 
society, life, and character were discussed ; and wit, ridicule, and satire 
were employed as never before. The affluence of the old school of 
authors gave way to correctness of form and taste. Pope's Essay on 
Man. and Essay on Criticism, with their " sonorous couplets brilliant with 
antithesis," are yet admired. Swift's Gulliver's Travels satirized the 
manners and customs of the time. Addison and Steele in their periodi- 
cals — the Tattler and the Spectator — popularized literature, and " brought 
philosophy," as Steele expressed it, " oat of libraries, schools, and col- 
leges, to dwell in clubs, at tea-tables, and in coffee-houses." The style 
of Addison was long considered a model of graceful, elegant prose. De 
Foe's Robinson Crusoe still charms the heart of every boy. 

Samuel Johnson, with his ponderous periods, is to as the principal 
figure of English literature from about the middle of the 18th century. 
In his English Dictionary, he was the first author who appealed for sup- 
port directly to the public and not to some great man. He established a 
republic of letters, and long held in London a sort of court in which he 
ruled as undisputed king. Literature had begun to take its present 
form ; newspapers commenced to play a part ; a new class of men arose — • 
the journalists ; and authorship assumed fresh impulses on every hand. 
Richardson, Fielding, and Smollett laid the foundation of the modern 
novel. Thompson's Seasons ; Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard; 
Goldsmith's Traveller, and The Deserted Village ; Cowper's Task; and 
Burns's The'Cotter's Saturday Night, were familiar stepping-stones in the 
progress of poetry into a new world, that of Nature. Burke, by his 



m. 



THE EIGHTEEIiTTH CEI^TUEY, 




sounding sentences and superb rhetoric, made tiie power of letters felt 
by every class in society. Hume wrote tlie History of England ; and 
Robertson, that of Charles V. — the first literary histories in our language. 
Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire elevated historical 
study to the accuracy of a scientific treatise. Adam Smith's Wealth of 
Nations founded the science of Political Economy. 

In France, the 18th century was pre-eminently an age of infidelity 
and skepticism. Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, as well as Diderot, 
D'Alembert, and the other liberal thinkers who wrote upon the En- 
cyclopedia, while they urged the doctrines of freedom and the natural 
rights of man, recklessly assaulted time-honored creeds and institutions. 

In Oermany, the efforts of Lessing, Winckelmann, Klopstock, and 
other patriots, had created a reaction against French influence. The 
"Twin Sons of Jove," as their countrymen liked to call them — Schiller, 
with his impassioned lyrics, and Goethe, one of the profoundest poets 
of any age or country — elevated German literature to a classical per- 
fection. The philosophical spirit gathered strength from this triumph, 
and gave birth to those fonr great teachers — Kant, Ficlite, Hegel, and 
Schelling — who afterward laid the foundation of German metaphysics. 

Both the French and the German writers exerted a powerful effect 
upon England, and, from the dawn of the French Revolution far into 
the 19th century, produced a remarkable outburst of literature. The 



THE CIVILIZATION. 249 

pliilosophi.' mind finds congenial employment in tracing their respec- 
tive intiuence npon the writings of Scott, Wordsworth, Colendge, 
Southey, Moore, Shelley, and Byron, — all of whom burned to redress 
the wrongs of man, and dreamed of a golden age of human perfection. 
Science now spread so rapidly on every side that one strains his 
eyes in vain to trace the expanding stream. Chemistry took on its pres- 
ent form. Black discovered carbonic acid gas ; Cavendish, hydrogen 
gas; Priestly and Scheele, oxygen gas ; and Rutherford, the properties 
of nitrogen gas. Lavoissier proved that respiration and combustion are 
merely forms of oxidation, and he was thus able to create an orderly 
nomenclature for the science. Physics was enriched by Black's dis- 
covery of the latent heat of melting ice. Franklin, experimenting with 
his kite, imprisoned the thunderbolt. Galvani, seeing the twitching of 
some frogs' legs that were hanging from iron hooks, found out the mys- • 
terious galvanism. Volta invented a way of producing electricity by 
chemical action, and of carrying the current through a wire both ends of 
which were connected with the battery, Dollond invented the achro- 
matic lens that gives the value to our telescope and microscope. Fah- 
renheit, Reaumur, and Celsius first marked off the degrees upon the 
thermometer (see Steele's Physics, p. 186), and so gave science an instru- 
ment of precision. In Astronomy, Lagrange proved the self -regulating, 
and, therefore, permanent nature of the orbits of the planets ; Laplace, 
in his Mecanique Celeste, pushed still further Newton's theory of gravi- 
tation and explained the anomalies in its application ; and, finally, 
Herschel, with his wonderful telescope, detected a planet (Uranus, see 
Steele's Astronomy, p. 189) called for by this law, and in the cloudy 
nebulae found the workings of this same universal force. Natural 
History was popularized by Buffon, who gathered many new facts, and 
detected the influence of climate and geography upon the distribution 
of animals. Lamarck began to lay the foundation of the theory of 
evolution. Cuvier found out the relation of the different parts of an 
animal, so that from a single bone he could restore the entire structure. 
Hutton taught how by watching the changes now going on in the 
earth's crust we are to detect nature's mode of making the world, or 
the science of Geology. Linnaeus, by the system still called from his 
name, gave to Botany its first orderly arrangement. 

Progress of Invention.— In 1705, Newcomen and Cawley 
patented in England the first steam-engine worth the name ; and James 
Watt in 1765 invented the condenser that, with other improvements, 
rendered this machine commercially successful. The application of 
steam-power to machinery wrought a revolution in commerce, manufac- 
tures, arts, and social life, and immensely aided in the progress of civil- 
ization. The difference between the mechanical workmanship of the 
18th and 19th centuries may be seen in the almost incredible fact that 
Watt, in making his first engine, found his greatest difficulty from the 



250 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTUET. 

impossibility of boring, witli the imperfect tools tlien in use, a cylinder 
that was steam-tight. Before the end of the century, several trial steam- 
boats were made, both in Europe and in America, and, ere long, as every 
school-boy knows, Fulton navigated the Hudson regularly. 

Until the 16th century, spinning was done by the distaff, as it had 
been from Homer's time. The spinning-wheel of our ancestors was the 
first improvement. Hargreaves about 1767 combined a number of 
spindles in the spinning-jenny (so named after his v^ife). Arkwri^ht 
soon after patented the spinning-mill driven by water; and in 1779 
Crompton completed the mule, or carriage for winding and spinning. 
In 1787, Cartwright invented the power-loom. Eli Whitney, six years 
later, made the cotton-gin. Such was the impetus given to cotton rais- 
ing and manufacture by these inventions that, while in 1784 an invoice 
of eight bags of cotton was confiscated at Liverpool on the ground that 
cotton was not a product of the United States, fifty years afterward we 
sent to England 230,000,000 pounds of cotton. 

ENGLAND A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 

The law recognized two hundred and twenty-three capital crimes. 
For stealing to the value of five shillings, for shooting at rabbits, or 
for cutting down young trees, the penalty was death. Traitors were 
cut in pieces by the executioner, and their heads exposed on Temple 
Bar to the derision of passers-by. Prisoners were forced to buy from 
the jailer (who had no salary) their food and even the straw upon which to 
lie at night. They were allowed tp stand, chained by the ankle, outside 
the jail, to sell articles of their own manufacture. Thus, John Bunyan 
sold cotton lace in front of Bedford prison. The grated windows were 
crowded by miserable wretches begging for alms. Many innocent per- 
sons were confined for years because they could not pay their jail fees. 
In 1773, Howard began his philanthropic labors in behalf of prison 
reform, but years elapsed before the evils he revealed were corrected. 
On the continent, torture was still practised ; the prisons of Hanover, 
for example, had machines for tearing off the hair of the convict. 

A general coarseness and brutality existed in society. Mas- 
ters beat their servants and husbands their wives,daily. Swearing was 
common with ladies as well as gentlemen. Lawyers swore at the bar ; 
judges, on the bench ; women, in their letters ; and the king, on his 
throne. No entertainment was complete unless the guests became 
stupidly drunk. Children of five years of age were habitually put 
to labor, and often driven to their work by blows. In mines, women 
and children, crawling on their hands and feet in the darkness, dragged 
wagons of coal fastened to their waists by a chain. Military and naval 
discipline was maintained by the lash, and, in the streets of every sea- 
port, the press-gang seized and carried off by force whom it pleased, 
to be sailors on the men-of-war. 



THE CIVILIZATION. 251 

London streets were lighted only in winter and until midnight, 
by dim oil-lamps. The services of a link-boy with his blazing torch 
were needed to light one home after dark ; since footpads lurked at the 
lonely corners, and, worst of all, bands of aristocratic young men (known 
as Mohocks, from the Mohawk Indians) sauntered to and fro, overturn- 
ing coaches, pricking men with their swords, rolling women down-hill 
in a barrel, and sometimes brutally maiming their victims for life. 

In the country, the roads were so bad that winter traveling was 
well nigh impossible. The stage-coach (with its armed guards to pro- 
tect it from highwaymen) rattling along in good weather at four miles 
per hour, was considered a wonderful instance of the progress of the 
times. Lord Campbell accomplished the journey from Edinburgh to 
London in three days ; but his friends warned him of the dangers of 
such an attempt, and gravely told him of persons venturing it who had 
died from the very rapidity of the motion. Each town dwelt apart, 
following its own customs and knowing little of the great world outside. 
There were villages so secluded that a stranger was considered an ene- 
my, and the inhabitants set their dogs upon him. Each householder 
in the country grew his own wool or flax, which his wife and daughters 
colored with dyes of their own gathering, and spun, wove, and made 
into garments themselves. 

Education. — In all England there were only about three thousand 
schools, public and private, and, so late as 1818, half of the children 
grew up destitute of education. The usual instruction of a gentleman 
was very superficial, consisting of a little Latin, less Greek, and a good 
deal of dancing. Female education was even more deplorable, and, at 
fourteen years of age, the young lady was taken out of school and 
plunged into the dissipations of fashionable society. Newspapers were 
taxed fourpence each copy, mainly to render them too costly for the 
poor, and so restrain what was considered their evil influence upon the 



SUMMARY. 

The 18th was the century of Marlborough, Peter the Great, Charles 
XII., Maria Theresa, William Pitt, the Georges, Louis XVI., Marie An- 
toinette, Robespierre, Buonaparte, Addison, Steele, Swift, Pope, Samuel 
Johnson, Gibbon, Burns, Burke, Voltaire, Goethe, Schiller, Kant, Ca- 
nova, Handel, Mozart, Cuvier, Franklin, Laplace, Lavoissier, Galvani, 
Herschel, Arkwright, Watt, and Whitney. It saw the Wars of the Span- 
ish, and of the Austrian Succession ; the Seven -Tears War ; the rise of 
Russia, and of Prussia ; the American Revolution ; the Partition of 
Poland ; and the opening of the French Revolution— including the exe- 
cution of Louis XVI., the Reign of Terror, and Buonaparte's Italian 
and Egyptian Campaigns. 



252 



THE EIGHTEEKTH CENTURY, 



READING REFERENCES. 



The General Modern Histories named on p. 123, and the Special Histories of Eng- 
land^ France, Germany, etc., on p. I12.—Lecky''s England in the 18(h Century.— Alli- 
son's History of Europe {Tory standpoint).— Voltaire's Peter the Great, and Charles 
Xll.—Schuylefs Peter the Great {Scribner's Magazine, Vol. XXl.).— Carlyle's 
Frederick the Great. —Longman'' s Frederick the Great and the Seven-Years War.— 
Southey''s Battle of Blenheim {poem).— Lacretelle'' s History of France during the 18th 
Century.— He Tocqueville's France before the Revolution.— The French Revolution 
{Epochs of History Series. The Appendix of this book contains an excellent resume 
of reading on this subject, by President White, which every student should examine)^ 
— Lamartine's History of the Girondists.— CarlyWs, MigneVs, Macfarlane''s, Read- 
head's, Michelets, Thiers's, and Von SybePs Histories of the French Revolution.— 
Lanfrey's History of Napoleon {the authority upon his life).— Burke's Reflections 
on the French Revolution.— Lewis' s Life of Robespierre.- Adams' s Democracy and 
Monarchy in France {excellent and discriminating).— Dickens's Tale of Two Cities 
{fl,ction). -Thiers' s Consulate and Empire.— Memoirs of Madame Campan,and of 
Madame Roland.— Erkmann-Chatrian's Blockade, Conscript, Waterloo, etc. {fiction). 
—Abbott's, Hazlitt's, Scott's, and Jomini's Life of Napoleon.— RusseV s Essay on 
the Cause of the French Revolution.— Mackintosh' s Defence of the French Revolution.— 
Napier's Peninsular War.—Kavanagh's Woman in France.-Davies's Recollections 
of Society in France. — Challice's Illustrious Women of France.— Citoyenne Jacque- 
line or a Woman's Lot in the French Revolution.— Madame Junot's {the Duchesse 
D' Abj^antes) Memoirs of Napoleon, his Court and Family.— Correspondence of Tal- 
leyrand and Louis XV TIL- Thackeray's The Four Georges.— Madame de Remusat's 
Letters {Napoleon'' s character).— Memmrs of Prince Metternich {1773-1829). 



CHRONOLOGY 



A. D. 

Battles of Blenheim, Ramilies, 

Oudenarde, and Malplaqnet 1704-'9 

TJnion of England and Scotland . . . 1T07 

Battle of Pultowa 1709 

Treaty of Utrecht 1716 

Guelphs ascend English throne 1714 

Charles XII. killed at Fredericshall 171S 

Frederick the Great, Age of 1740-''86 

Seven-Years War 1756-'63 

First Partition of Poland 1772 



A. D. 

American Revolution 1775-83 

Meeting of States-General 1789 

Attack on Tuileries,. .feig. 10 1792 

Battle of Jemmapes 1792 

Lonis XVI. guillotined, Jan. 21 ... . 1793 

Reign of Terror 1798-4 

Third Partition of Poland 1795 

Napoleon's Campaign in Italy 1796 

Battle of the Nile. 1798 

Buonaparte First Consul 1799 



CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. 



ENGLAND. 

William and 

Mary 1689 

Anne 1702 

George 1 1714 

George II... 1727 
George III... 1760 



FRANCE. 

Louis XIV.... 1643 



Louis XV.. 



Louis XVI. 
Republic. . 



1774 



GERMANY. 

Leopold I. . . . 1658 

Joseph 1 1705 

Charles VI... 1711 

Charles VII.. 1742 

Francis T 1745 

Joseph II.... 1765 

Leopold II... 1790 

Francis II.... 1792 



PRUSSIA. 



Frederick!.. 1701 
William 1 1713 



Frederick II.. 1740 



William IL... 1786 
William III.. 1797 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 253 

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 

I. FRANCE. 
FRENCH REVOLUTION iCon/i)iii€cl).*-4. THE CONSULATE (1800-1804). 

Austrian War (1800). — England, regarding Buonaparte 
as an usurper, refused to make peace, and hostilities soon 
began. The First Consul was eager to renew the glories of 
his Italian campaign. Pouring his army over the Alps, he 
descended upon Lombardy like an avalanche. The Aus- 
trians, however, quickly rallied from their surprise, and, 
unexpectedly attacking him upon the plain of Marengo, 
swept all before them. At this juncture, Desaix, who, with 
his division, had hastened thither at the sound of cannon, 
dashed upon the advancing column, but fell in the charge. 
Just then, Kellerman, seeing the opportunity, hurled his 
terrible dragoons upon the flank of the column, and the 
Austrians broke and fled. 

Effect. — This single battle restored northern Italy to its 
conqueror. Meantime, General Moreau had driven back the 
Austrian army in Germany, step by step, and now, gaining a 
victory in the gloomy forest of Hohenlinden, he pressed for- 
ward to the gates of Vienna. The frightened monarch 
consented to 

The Trecdy of Luneville, which was nearly like that of 
Campo Formio. England did not make peace until the 
next year, when Pitt's retirement from office paved the Avay 
to the Treaty of Amiens (1802). 

Government. — " I shall now give myself to the adminis- 
tration of France," said Buonaparte. The opportunity for 
reorganization was a rare one. Feudal shackles had been 

* The pupil will bear in mind that the French Revolution, which began in 
1789 (p. 230), lasted until the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1814-1815, thus 
being the opening event of the present century. 



1802-'0.J THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



255 



tliruwn off, laiul had been set free, and the nation had per- 
fect contidence in its brilliant leader. Commerce, agricul- 
ture, manufactures, education, religion, arts, and sciences, — 
each received his careful thought. He restored the Catholic 
Church in accord- 
ance with the cele- 
brated Concordat 
(1801), whereby 
the Pope re- 
nounced all claim 
to the lauds con- 
fiscated by the 
revolution, and 
the government 
agreed- to provide 
for the mainte- 
nance of the clergy. He established a uniform system of 
weights and measures, known as the Metric System (1801). 
He fused the conflicting laws into what is still called the 
Napoleonic Code. He abolished the fantastic republican 
calendar (1806). He erected magnificent bridges across 
the Seine. He created the Legion of Honor, to reward 
distinguished merit. He repaired the roads and built new 
ones, among which was the magnificent route over the 
Simplon Pass into Italy, even now the wonder of travelers. 




THE TEMPLE OF GLORY. 



FRENCH REVOLUTION {Cmtinued).-^. THE EMPIRE (1804-'14). 

Buonaparte becomes Emperor. — So general was the 
confidence inspired in France by Buonaparte's administra- 
tion, and so fascinated was the nation by his military achieve- 
ments, that, though he recklessly violated the liberties of the 
people and the rights of neighboring countries, when the 
senate proclaimed him Emperor Napoleon I., the popular 



256 



THE KINETEEKIH CEKTURY 



[1804. 



vote ratifying it showed only twenty-five hundred noes. At 
the coronation, Pius VII. poured on the head of the kneeling 
sovereign the mystic oil ; but, when he lifted the crown, 
Napoleon took it from his hands, placed it on his own head, 

and afterward crowned 
Josephine, Empress. As 
the hymn was sung 
which Charlemagne 
heard when saluted Em- 
peror of the Eomans, 
the shouts within the 
walls of Notre Dame 
reached the crowd with- 
out, and all Paris rung 
with acclamation. Cross- 
ing the Alps, the new 
emperor took, at Milan, 
the iron crown of the 
Lombards, and his step- 
son, Eugene Beauharnais, received the title. Viceroy of Italy. 
The empire of Charlemagne seemed to be revived, with its 
seat at Paris instead of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

Campaign of Austerlitz. — A Third Coalition (consist- 
ing of England, Austria, and Russia) was formed to resist 
the ambitious projects of " The soldier of fortune." Napo- 
leon had already collected at Boulogne an admirably-dis- 
ciplined army and a vast fleet, threatening to invade Eng- 
land. Learning that Austria had taken the field, he suddenly 
threw two hundred thousand men across the Rhine, surprised 
and captured the Austrian army at Ulm, and entered Vienna 
in triumph. Thence pressing forward, he met the Austro- 
Russian force, under the emperors Francis and Alexander, at 
the heights of 




EMPRESS JOSEPHINE. 



1805. 1 T 11 E F U K K If J{ E V O L U T 1 O N . 257 

Aiisterlifz (1805). — Witli ill-concealed joy, in which his 
soldiers shared, he Avatched the allies marching their troops 
past the front of the French position in order to turn his 
right flank. Waiting until this ruinous movement was past 
recall, he suddenly launched his eager veterans upon the 
weakened center of the enemies' line, seized the plateau of 
Pratzen — the key of their position, isolated their left wing, 
and then cut up their entire army in detail. ^^ The Sun of 
Austerlitz " saw the coalition go down in crnshing defeat.* 

Treaty of Preshurg. — After the ^^ Battle of the three 
emperors," Francis came a suppliant into the conqueror's 
tent. He secured peace at such a cost of territory that he 
surrendered the title of German emperor for that of Emperor 
of Austria (1806). Thus ended the Holy Eoman Empire 
which had lasted over a thousand years (p. 69). 

Battle pf Trafalgar. — The day after the thunderstroke 
at Ulm, Nelson, with the English squadron, off Cape Tra- 
falgar, annihilated the combined fleet of France and Spain. 
Henceforth, Napoleon never contested with England the 
supremacy of the sea. 

Royal Vassals. — On land, however, after Austerlitz, no 
one dared to resist his will. To strengthen his power, he 
surrounded France with fiefs, after the manner of the Mid- 
dle Ages. Seventeen states of Germany were united in the 
Confederation of the Rhine, in close alliance with him. His 
brother Louis received the kingdom of Holland; Jerome, 
that of Westphalia ; and Joseph, that of Naples. His brother- 
in-law Murat was assigned the grandduchy of Berg ; Marshal 
Berthier, the province of Neuchatel ; and Talleyrand, that of 
Benevento. Bernadotte was given Ponte-Corvo, but afterward 



* When Pitt received tlie news of Austerlitz, he exclaimed, "Roll up the map of 
Europe : it will not be wanted these ten years." Then, falling into a dying stupor, 
he awoke only to murmur, " AJas, my country." 



258 



THE NIN"ETEENTH CENTURY, 



[1806. 






ittmmi'vinirfinti 







5^1 



he was allowed to 
accept the crown of 
Sweden. In all, 
I over twenty princi- 
palities were dis- 
tributed among his 
relatives and friends, 
who were henceforth 
expected to obey him 
as suzerain. 

War with Prus- 
sia (1806).— Prus- 
sia's humiliation was to come next. A Fourth Coalition 
(Prussia, Eussia, England, etc.) had now been formed 
against France, but the Grand Army was still in Germany, 
and, before the Prussians could prepare for war, Napoleon 
burst upon them. In one day he annihilated their army 
at Jena and Auerstddt, and thus, by a single dreadful 
blow, laid the country prostrate at his feet. Amid the 



y)L 



NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE AT ST. CLOUD. 



1800.] THE FRENCH REVOLUTIOK. 259 

tears of the people, he entered Berlin, levied enormous 
contributions,* plundered the museums, and even rifled the 
tomb of Frederick the Great. 

Berlin Decrees (180G).— Unable to meet England on 
the ocean, Napoleon determined to destroy her commerce, 
and issued at Berlin the famous decrees prohibiting British 
trade, t The Continental System, as it was called, was, 
however, a failure. Napoleon had no navy to enforce it. 
English goods were smuggled wherever a British vessel could 
float. It is said that Manchester prints were worn even in 
the Tuileries. 

War with Russia (1807). — Napoleon next hastened into 
Poland to meet the Eussian army. The bloody battle of 
Eylau, fought amid blinding snow, was indecisive, but the 
victory of Friedland forced Alexander to sue for peace. The 
two emperors met upon a raft in the river Memen. By the 
Treaty of Tilsit, they agreed to support each other in their 
ambitious schemes. 

Peninsular War. — Napoleon sought, also, to make Spain 
and Portugal subject to France. On the plea of enforcing 
the Continental System, Junot was sent into Portugal, where- 
upon the royal family fled to Brazil. The imbecile king of 

* To raise the amount, the women gave up their ornaments, and wore rings of 
Berlin iron — since then noted in tlie patriotic annals of Prussia. " This country fur- 
nishes a curious and perhaps unique example of a despotic monarchy forced by a 
despotism stronger than itself to seek defence in secret association. When Prussia 
lay crushed under the merciless tyranny of Napoleon, Baron Stein, the prime minis- 
ter, bethought him how he could rouse the German spirit and unite the country 
against the invader. He devised the Tugendhiind, or League of Virtue (1807), which 
spread rapidly over the country, and soon numbered in its ranks the flower of the 
people, including the very highest rank. Its organization and discipline were per- 
fect, and its authority was unbounded, although the source was veiled in the deepest 
secrecy. One of the motives by which Stein kindled to white-heat the enthusiasm 
of the people was the hope of representative institutions and a free press ; but the 
king did not hesitate to violate his royal promise when its purpose was served. The 
Tuc endbund contributed powerfully to the resurrection of German national life in 
1813, and to the overthrow of Napoleon." 

t They made smuggling a capital offence. A man was shot at Hamburg merely 
for having a little sugar in his house. 



260 THE KIJiTETEEKTH CEKTUEY. [1808. 

Spain being induced to. abdicate, the Spanish crown was 
placed upoii the head of Napoleon's brother Joseph, while 
Naples was transferred to Murat. 

But Spain rebelled against the hated intruder. The entire 
kingdom blazed with fanatic devotion. More Frenchmen 
perished by the knife of the assassin than by the bullet of 
the soldier. Joseph kept his ill-gotten throne only eight 
days. The English, who now for the first time fought 
Napoleon on land, crossed into Portugal, and Sir Arthur 
Wellesley quickly expelled the French. 

Napoleon was forced to come to the rescue with the 
Grand Army. By three great battles he reached Madrid 
and replaced Joseph upon the throne, while Marshal Soult 
pursued the English army to the sea, where it took ship for 
home. * 

War with Austria (1809).— A FiftJi Coalition (England, 
Austria, Spain, and Portugal) having been organized to stay 
the progress of France, Austria took advantage of the absence 
of the Grand Array in Spain, and opened a new campaign. 
Napoleon hurried across the Ehine, and in five days captured 
sixty thousand prisoners, and drove the Austrians over the 
Danube. 

Battles of Aspern and Wagram. — But, while the French 
'were crossing the river in pursuit, the Austrian army fell 
upon them with terrible desperation. During the struggle, 
the village of Aspern was taken and retaken fourteen times. 
Napoleon was forced to retreat. He at once sujumoned 
reinforcements from all parts of his vast dominions, and, 
recrossing the stream in the midst of a fearful thunderstorm, 



* The gallant Sir Jobn Moore, then in command, was mortally wounded just 
before the embarkation. His body, wrapped in his military cloak, was hastily buried 
on the ramparts, 

"By the struggling moonbeam's misty light, 
And the lantern dimly burning."— Wolfe's Ode. 



1800.1 



tHE FREKCH 



EVOLUTION, 



261 




THE BATTLE OF WAGRAM. 



defeated the Austrians on the plain of Wagram, and imposed 
the humiliating 

Peace of Vienna. — It exacted a large territory, a money- 
indemnity, adherence to the Continental System, and the 
blowing up of the walls of Vienna — the favorite promenade 
of its citizens. 

The treaty was cemented by marriage. Napoleon divorced 
Josephine and married Maria Louisa, daughter of Francis. 
But this alliance of the Soldier of the Revolution with the 
proud house of Hapsburg was distasteful to the other 
crowned heads of Europe and unpopular in France. 

War in Spain (1809-12). — During the campaign in Aus- 
tria, over three hundred thousand French soldiers were in 



262 THE KIHETEEKTH CEi^TtJRY. [1809-12. 

Spain, but Napoleon was not there. Jealousies and the dif- 
ficulties of a guerilla warfare prevented success. Wellesley 
crossed the Duoro in the face of Marshal Soult, and at last 
drove him out of the country.* Joining the Spaniards, Wel- 
lesley then defeated Joseph in the great battle of Tdlavera ; 
but Soult, Ney, and Mortier having come up, he retreated 
into Portugal. 

The next year, he fell back before the superior forces of 
Massena into the fortified lines of Torres Vedra^. Massena 
remained in front of this impregnable position until starva- 
tion forced him to retire into Spain. His watchful antagonist 
instantly followed him, and it was only by consummate skill 
that the French captain escaped with the wreck of his army. 
The victories of AWuera and Salamanca, and the capture of 
Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz cost the French the peninsula 
south of Madrid. Joseph's throne was held up on the point 
of French bayonets. 

Russian Campaign (1812). — As the emperor Alexander 
refused to carry out the Continental System, Napoleon in- 
vaded that country with a vast army of seven hundred thou- 
sand men. But, as he advanced, the Russians ret-ired, de- 
stroying the crops and burning the villages. No longer could 
he make war support war. By incredible exertions, however, 
he pushed forward, won the bloody battle of Borodino, and 
finally entered Moscow. 

But the inhabitants had deserted the city. The next 
night, the Russians fired it in a thousand places. The 
blackened ruins furnished no shelter from the northern 
winter then fast approaching. Famine was already making 

* Napoleon was accustomed to mass his men in a tremendous column of attack 
that crushed down all opposition. Wellesley (now better known as Lord Welling- 
ton) believed that the English troops in thin line-of-battle could resist this fearful 
onset. In the end, as we shall see (p. 266), Wellington's tactics proved superior to 
those of Napoleon. 



1812.] 



THE FKENCH REVOLUTION. 



2G3 



sad havoc in the invader's ranks. The Czar refused peace. 
Napoleon hud no alternative but to 

Retreat from 3Ioscoiu. — The mercury suddenly sank to 
zero. The soldiers, unused to the rigors of the climate, 




COSSACKS HARASSING THE RETREATIi\G ARMY. 



died as they walked; 
they perished if 
they stopped to 
rest. Hundreds lay 
down by the fires 
at night, and never 
rose in the morn- 
ing. Wild Cossack 
troopers hovered about the rear, and, hidden by the gusts of 
snow, dashed down upon the blinded column, and with 
their long lances pierced far into the line; then, ere the 
French with their stiffened fingers could raise a musket, the 
Tartars, dropping at full length on the backs of their 
ponies, vanished in the falhng sleet. Napoleon finally gave 
up the command to Murat, and set off for Paris. All idea 



264: THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. [1812. 

of discipline was now lost. The army rapidly dissolved into 
a mass of straggling fugitives. 

Uprising of Europe (1813).— ''The flames of Moscow 
were the funeral pyre of the empire." The yoke of the arro- 
gant usurper was thrown off on every hand when Europe saw 
a hope of deliverance. 

A Sixth Confederation (Russia, Prussia, England, and 
Sweden) against French domination was quickly formed. 
Napoleon raised a new army of conscripts which defeated 
the allies at Lutzen,'^ Bautzen, and Dresden. But where he 
was absent was failure ; while Wellington, flushed with vic- 
tory in Spain, crossed the Bidassoa, and set foot on French 
soil. And now Napoleon himself, in the terrible ^'Battle of 
the nations," was routed under the walls of Leipsic. Flee- 
ing back to Paris, he collected a handful of men for the 
final struggle. 

Invasion of France (1814). — Nearly a million of foes 
swarmed into France on all sides. Never did Napoleon dis- 
play such genius, such profound combinations, such fertility 
of resource. Striking, now here, and now there, he ' held 
them back for a time ; but making a false move to the rear 
of the Austrian army, the allies ventured forward and cap- 
tured Paris. The fickle Parisians received them with delight. 
The people were weary of this hopeless butchery. 

Abdication of Napoleon. — Meanwhile, Napoleon was 
breathlessly hastening to the defence of his capital. When 
only ten miles off, he received the fatal news. There was no 
hope of resistance, and he agreed to abdicate his throne. In 
the court of the palace at Fontainebleaii, he bade the veter- 
ans of the Old Guard an affecting adieu, and then set out for 
the Island of Elba, which had been assigned as his residence. 

* A battle-field already famed for the death of Gustavus Adolplms (p. 177). 



1814.] FRANCE — THE IlESTOriATION'. 



2G5 




NAPOLEON S PARTING WITH THE OLD GUARD AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 



1. THE RESTORATION (1814). 

Louis XVIII., brother of Lonis XVI., was placed upon the 
throne. France resumed very nearly the boundaries of 1792. 
The Bourbons, however, had "learned nothing, forgotten 
nothing." The nobles talked of reclaiming their feudal 
rights, and looked with insolent contempt upon the upstarts 
who had followed the fortunes of the Corsican adventurer. 
No wonder that people's thoughts again turned toward JSTa- 
poleon. Soon, men spoke mysteriously of a certain Corporal 
Violet who would come with the flowers of spring; and vio- 
lets bloomed significantly on ladies' hats. 

The Hundred Days (March 20-June 22, 1815).— Sud- 
denly the mystery was explained. Napoleon returned to 
France and hastened toward Paris. At Grenoble, he met a 
body of troops drawn up to bar his advance. Wearing his 



26.Q THE JflNETEENTH CE:N'TUKT. [1815. 

familiar gray coat and cocked hat, Napoleon advanced alone 
in front of the line and exclaimed, '^Soldiers, if there be one 
among yon who would kill his emperor, here he is." The men 
dropped their arms and shouted, " Vive VEmpereur! " * Key 
promised ^' to bring back the Oorsican to Paris in an iron 
cage." But, when he saw the colors under which he had 
fought and heard the shouts of the men he had so often led 
to battle, he forgot all else and threw himself into the arms 
of Napoleon. 

Louis XVIII. fled incontinently. The restored govern- 
ment of the Bourbons melted into thin air. 

Commissioners were at Vienna arranging a general peace 
when they heard of the return of Napoleon. The former 
coalition was at once renewed, and the allied troops again 
took the field. 

Battle of Waterloo (1815). — Napoleon quickly assembled 
an army and hastened into Belgium, hoping to defeat the 
English and Prussian armies before the others arrived. De- 
taching Grouchj with 34,000 men to hold Blucher and the 
Prussians in check, he turned to attack the English. Near 
Brussels he met Wellington. Each general had about seventy- 
five thousand men. Napoleon opened the battle with a 
feigned but fierce attack on the chateau of Hougoumont on 
the British right. Then, under cover of a tremendous artil- 
lery-fire, he massed a heavy column against the center. La 
Haye Sainte — a farm-house in front of Wellington's line — 
was taken, and the cavalry streamed up the heights beyond. 
The English threw themselves into squares, upon which the 
French cuirasseurs dashed with the utmost fury. For five 
hours they charged up to the very muzzles of the British 



* When Colonel LabedoySre joined him with his regiment, each soldier took 
from the bottom of his knapsack the tricolored cockade, which he had carefully 
hidden for ten months. 



181.-).] FRANCE — THE RESTORATION. 267 

guDS. English tenacity struggled with French enthusiasm. 
Welhngton, momentarily consulting his watch, longed for 
night or Bliicher. Napoleon hurried messenger after mes- 
senger to recall Grouchy to his help. Just at evening, Ney 
with the Old and the Young Guard made a last effort. These 
veterans, whose presence had decided so many battles, swept 
to the top of the slope. The British Guards who were lying 
down behind the crest rose and poured in a deadly fire. 
The English converged from all sides. Suddenly, cannon- 
ading was heard on the extreme French right. " It is Grou- 
chy," cried the soldiers. It was Bllicher's masses carrying 
all before them. The terrible '' sauve qui peut" arose. 
Whole ranks of the French melted away. "All is lost," 
shouted Napoleon, and, putting spurs to his horse, he fled 
from the field. 

Second Abdication. — Having abdicated the throne a second 
time. Napoleon went on board the British ship Bellerophon 
and surrendered. In order to prevent him from again 
troubling the peace, England imprisoned him upon the 
Island of St. Helena. The long wars of the French Eevo- 
lution which had convulsed Europe since 1792 were at length 
ended. 

Napoleon's Fate. — The Corsican Adventurer dragged out the 
remainder of his life in recalling the glories of his past and complain- 
ing of the annoyances of the present. On the evening of May 5, 1821, 
there was a fearful storm of wind and rain, in the midst of which, as 
in the case of Cromwell, the soul of the warrior went to its final ac- 
count. The howling of the tempest seemed to recall to his wandering 
mind the roar of battle, and his last words were, " Tete d'armee." He 
was buried near his favorite resort— a fountain shaded by a few 
weeping willows. In his will was a request that his " body might 
repose on the banks of the Seine, among the people he had loved 
so well." During the reign of Louis Philippe, his remains were carried 
to Paris, and laid beneath a magnificent mausoleum connected with 
the Hotel des Invalides. " The body had been so skilfully embalmed 
that nineteen years of death had not effaced the expression pf the 



268 



THE N'lN^ETEENTH CEE^TUET 



[1815. 




TOMB OF NAPOLEON AT ST, HELENA. 



well-remembered features. 
Men looked once more 
with reverence and pity 
upon the almost un- 
changed countenance of 
him who had been the 
glory and the scourge of 
his age." 

Napoleon's Oppor- 
tunity was a rare one, 
but he ingloriously 
missed it. If he had 
been wise, he might have 
seen, at several stages in 
his career — probably after 
Marengo, at all events 
after Austerlitz — that it 
was within his reach to found one of the most powerful and com- 
pact kingdoms in the world. He might have been Emperor of a 
France bounded by the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the "Rhine, with by far 
the greatest military strength in Europe. Within this splendid ter- 
ritory, he might have established a moral and intellectual power even 
more formidable and durable than his military power. But his double- 
dealing; his over-reaching project of parceling out Europe among his 
relations and dependants ; and the folly of the Austrian marriage, the 
Spanish War, and the Russian campaign, — all illustrated his lack of 
wisdom and wrecked his throne. 

" Napoleon's Mission," says Bryce, "was to break up in Germany 
and Italy the abominable system of petty states, to reawaken the spirit 
of the people, to sweep away the relics of an eflPete feudalism, and leave 
the ground clear for the growth of newer and better forms of political 
life." The Child of the Revolution, he conquered only to destroy: still, 
the very necessities of his position required him to defer to democratic 
influences at home and to spread them abroad. He was as despotic as the 
kings whom he unseated. He inflicted upon Europe the most appalling 
miseries, during nineteen years of almost constant war. Yet out of the 
fearful evils of his life came the ultimate good of humanity. Even the 
hatred evoked by his despotism, and the patriotic eSbrts demanded to 
overthrow his power, taught the nations to know their strength. To 
the Napoleonic rule, Germany and Italy date back the first glimpses and 
possibilities of united national life. 



Second Restoration. — Louis XVIII. now reoccupied 
his throne. France, in her turn, was forced to submit to 



1815.J 



FRANCE — THE RESTORATION. 



2G9 



a humilLating peace. The Congress of Vienna imposed an 
indemnity of seven hundred million francs ; a loss of terri- 
tory having a population of twenty-five hundred thousand 
persons ; and the occupation of the French frontier by a 
foreign army for five years.'* Louis now resisted the ultra- 
royalists, and prudently sought to establish a limited mon- 
archy, with a chamber of peers and one of deputies, based 
upon a restricted suffrage. But his 
brother, who succeeded to the crown 
as 

Charles X. (1824:-'30), was bent 
on restoring the Bourbon despotism. 
His flagrant usurpations of power 
ended in the "Revolution of the 
Three Days of July, 1830." Once 
more the pavements of Paris were 
torn up for barricades. La Fayette 
again appeared on the scene, waving 
the tricolored flag. The palace of 
the Tuileries was sacked. Charles 
was forced to flee. The Chambers 
elected his cousin, the Duke of Or- 
leans, as " King of the French," thus 
finally repudiating the doctrine of 
the " Divine right of kings." 

The House of Orleans. — Louis Philippe (1830-48), the 
" Citizen King," who now received the crown, at first won th'fe 
good-will of the nation by his charming family-life, and his 
earnest efforts to rule as a constitutional monarch. But 

* The allies returned to their owners the treasures of art Napoleon had pillaged. 
" The hronze horses ^om Corinth resumed their old place on the portico of the 
Church of St. Mark in Venice ; the Transfiguration was restored to the Vatican ; the 
Apollo Belvidere and the LaocoOn again adorned St. Peter's ; the Venus de' Medici 
was enshrined with new beauty at Florence ; and the Descent from the Cross wa§ 
replaced in the Cathedral of Antwerp."— Lord's Modern Europe, 




COLUMN OF JULY. 



370 



THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY, 



[1830. 



there were many conflicting parties — the Bourhonists, who 
sustained the grandson of Charles X. (Comte de Chambord, 
or " Henry V.") ; the Bonapartists, who remembered Napo- 
leon's successes, and not the misery he had caused ; the 




LANCERS CLEARING THE BOULEVARDS OF PARIS. 



Orleanists, who supported the constitutional monarchy ; 
the RejmUicans, who wished for a republic ; and the Red or 
Radical Repuilicans, who had adopted socialistic doctrines. 
The favorite motto was, '^Liberty, Equality, and Frater- 
nity." Political clubs fomented disorder. Amid these 
complications, the king's popularity waned. His policy of 
"Peace at any price," and his selfish ambition in seeking 
donations and royal alliances for his family, aroused general 
contempt. Finally, a popular demand for an extension of 
the franchise found expression in certain' '^Eeform Ban- 
quets." An attempt to suppress one of these meetin^gs at 
Paris precipitated 



1848.1 FHA-NTCE — THE SECOKD REPUBLIC ^71 




PROCLAMATION OF THE REPUBLIC. 



The Revolution of 1848. — Barricades sprung up as by 
magic. The red flag was unfurled. The National Guards, 
fraternized with the rabble. Louis Philippe lost heart, and, 
assuming the name of Smith, fled to England. A republic 



272 THE N"Iiq"ETEENTH CEKTUEY. [184S. 

was again proclaimed. France, as usual, followed the lead 
of Paris.* 

2. THE SECOND EEPUBLIC (1848-'52). 

The Paris Mob, though it had established a republic, 
really wanted equality of money rather than of rights. The 
Socialists taught that government should provide work and 
wages for every one. To meet the demand, national work- 
shops were established ; but, when these proved an evil and 
were closed, the Eeds organized an outbreak. For three 
days, a fearful fight raged in the streets of Paris. Order was 
at last restored at a cost of five thousand lives. 

Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I., was then chosen 
president of the new republic. Before his four-years term of 
ofiice had expired, he plotted, by the help of the army, a 
coup d^etat (1851). His very audacity won the day. The 
Chamber of Deputies was dissolved; his opponents were 
imprisoned ; and he was elected president for ten years. 

As, fifty years before, the Consulate gave place to the 
Empire, so now the Second Republic was soon merged in 
the Second Empire. In 1852, the president assumed the 
title of emperor. Again the popular vote approved the over- 
throw of the republic and Napoleon's violation of the consti- 
tution he had sworn to support. 

SrTHE SECOND EMPIRE (1852-'70). 

Napoleon III. modeled his domestic policy after that of 
Napoleon I. He relied on the army for support, and cen- 
tralized all authority. He improved Paris by widening its 
streets and removing old buildings. He reorganized the 
army and navy ; extended railroads ; encouraged agricul- 

* At this time, the provinces complained that they " had to receive their revoln- 
tions by mail from Paris.'" In our day, Paris is no longer Prance; and the rural 
population has become a ruling power in politiCB. 




STREET PLACARDS ANNOUNCING THE COUP D ETAT 




tiire ; and dazzled men's eyes by 
the glitter of a brilliant court. 
In 1867, a World's Fair was held 
in Paris. Visitors were impressed 
by the evidences of a wonderful 
material prosperity. 

At his ascension, Napoleon announced his policy in the 
words, "The Empire is peace." Yet four great wars charac- 
terized his reign — the Crimean (p. 280), the Italian (p. 288), 
the Mexican (Hisfc. U. S., p. 248), and the German. The 
last is of the greatest interest, as it revealed the inherent 
weakness of the Napoleonic administration, and caused the 
emperors downfall. 

Seven-Months War with Germany (1870-'!).— The 
time-honored policy of France was to perpetuate German 
divisions in order to weaken that nation. Of late, there had 



374 THE iq'INETEEN^TH CEKTURY. [l870. 

• 

been an especial jealousy between France and Prussia. The 
former was distrustful of Prussia's growing power, and the 
latter was eager to avenge Jena and recover the Rhine. A 
proposal of the Spaniards to bestow their crown upon a rela- 
tion of the king of Prussia was resented by France as an 
undue extension of Prussian influence, and out of it finally 
grew an excuse to declare war. 

Invasion of France. — The French troops left Paris to the 
cry of ^^On to Berlin," but they never crossed the Rhine. 
The soldiers had no respect for their commanders, and lacked 
discipline and confidence.- The generals were ignorant of 
the country and the position of the enemy. The Prussian 
trooper knew more of the French roads than many an Im- 
perial officer. The German armies, by their superior dis- 
cipline and overwhelming numbers, crushed all opposition. 
Victories followed fast, at Weissenhurg, Worth, Conrcelles, 
Vionville, and GraveloUe. Napoleon himself surrendered at 
Sedan with eighty thousand men, and Marshal Bazaine at 
Meiz with one hundred and eighty thousand. 

When the news of the disaster of Sedan reached Paris, the 
people turned their wrath upon Napoleon and his family. 
The empress Eugenie was forced to flee, and the empire 
was at an end. The conquerors now closed in upon Paris, 
and, after a siege of one hundred and thirty-one days, that 
city surrendered. 

4 THE THIRD REPUBLIC (1871 to the present time). 

The Republic— The Germans having granted a three- 
weeks truce that the French might vote for a new govern- 
ment, an Assembly was chosen by the people. Thiers was 
elected president of the new republic. But j)eace was pur- 
chased only by the cession of Alsace and part of Lorraine, 
and the payment of five billion francs. Thus Strasburg, 
taken by Louis XIV., and Metz, by Henry 11.^ were lost, 



1871.] 



PR A KG H — THE THIRD REPUBLIC, 



275 



and France itself, which in 1814 had been conquered only 
by all Europe, lay at the mercy of one nation. Jena and 
the cruel indignities which Napoleon had inflicted on Ger- 
many were sadly expiated. 

The Commune (1871).— While a German army was yet 
at hand, the indemnity unpaid, and the country devastated 
by war, the Parisian rab- 
ble inaugurated a second 
reign of terror. Barricades 
were thrown up, the red 
flag — symbol of anarchy — 
was unfurled, and a Com- 
mune was established at 
the Hotel de Ville. The 
Assembly met at Versailles 
and collected troops. Then . 
ensued a second siege of 
■ Paris more disastrous than 
the first. The Communists, 
defeated at all points, laid 
trains of petroleum, and 
destroyed the Tuileries, 

the Hotel de Ville, and many of the finest public buildings. 
This fearful ruin was as useless as it was vindictive. 

The Assembly, having triumphed, assumed the difficult 
task of government. The administration of Thiers was sin- 
gularly successful, and the rapid payment of the war penalty 
to Germany excited the wonder of the world. The French 
felt that they had been beaten by the German public school, 
and so primary education became one of the most engrossing 
cares of the young republic. The army was also remodeled 
after the German plan ; it is said that in an emergency twenty- 
four hundred thousand men could now be put in the field. 




EXECUTION OF A FEMALE COMMUXtST IN PARIS, 



276 



THE NlKETEEKTH-CEKTUEY 



[1871. 




M^m^Wmi 



lid''' ^%i&f-^'j^ 











-^-^-- 



BARRICADING THE STREETS OF PARIS. 



On Thiers's resignation in 1873, Marshal McMahon was 
chosen as his successor ; Grevy succeeded to the presidency 
in 1879. 



1820.] ENGLAND — THE HOUSE OP HANOVER. 27^ 



II. ENGLAND UNDER THE HOUSE OF HANOVER {Continued). 

The English Monarchs of the present century are as 
follows : George IV. (1820-30), owing to the insanity of his 
father, ruled for nine years as regent. Though styled the 
" First Gentleman of Europe " for his courtly manners and 
exquisite dress, he was selfish as Charles I. and profligate as 
Charles II. William IV. (1830-'7), brother of George IV., 
having seen service in the navy, was known as the " Sailor 
King." His warm heart, open hand, and common sense 
won the love of England. Victoria (1837-' — ), niece of 
William IV., ascended the throne at the age of eighteen.* 
Her reign has proved a blessing to the world. All England 
has felt the benediction of her pure life and her Christian 
example, as queen, wife, and mother. 

Stat^ of the Country. — The long wars of the French 
Eevolution left England burdened with a debt of four billion 
dollars. The condition of the common people w^as miserable. 
Wages were low, .and the Corn Laws, imposing a heavy dutjj 
on foreign grain, made the price of food very high. Suffrage 
was limited ; there was no system of public education ; and 
the laws were unequal. Thousands of disbanded soldiers 
and sailors vainly sought for work. Bands of discharged 
laborers roamed through the country, breaking the stock- 
ing and lace frames which had taken from them their 
employment. Incendiary fires lighted the evening sky. 
Everywhere, men's minds were astir with a sense of injustice 
and a need of political privileges. It is noticeable that while 
in France improvement came only by revolution, in England 
wrongs were righted by peaceable reform. 

Reforms. — The Test Act was repealed in 1828, and the 
next year Catholics were granted, with a few exceptions, 

* Hanover was then severed from the British Empire by the Salic law. 



278 a^HE KiKETEEKTfi CEHTURt. [1832. 

equal rights with their Protestant fellow-citizens. The 
First Reform Bill (1832), proposed by Lord John Russell, 
extended the franchise, abolished many rotten boroughs,* 
and empowered the large towns to send members to Parlia- 
ment. The Negro Emancipation Bill (1833), passed chiefly 
through the philanthropic efforts of William Wilberforce, 
suppressed slayery throughout the British Empire. 

The Chartists, principally workingmen, were so called 
from a document termed the People's Charter, in which they 
demanded six changes in the constitution, viz. : 1. Universal 
suffrage; 2. Vote by ballot ; 3. Annual Parliaments ; 4. Pay- 
ment of members of Parliament; 5. Abolition of property 
qualification for a seat in the House ; and 6. Equal electoral 
districts. In 1848 — that year of revolution over the conti- 

* Cities, like Manchester and Leeds, then sent no members to Parliament, while 
some little villages had two members apiece. The great landowners dictated to their 
tenants the proper candidate. There were many " pocket or rotten boroughs " hav- 
ing seats in Parliament, yet without house or inhabitant. One of these was a ruined 
wall in a gentleman's park ; another was under the sea. " So utterly were the people 
excluded from any part in politics that for twenty years there had not been in Edin- 
burgh any public meeting of a political character." 

"During the eighteenth century, the Irish Parliament, composed of Protestants of 
an exceedingly bitter type, had heaped upon the unhappy Catholics of Ireland an 
accumulation of the most wicked laws which have ever been expressed in the English 
tongue. A Catholic could not sit in Parliament, could not hold any office under the 
crown, could not vote at an election, could not be a solicitor, or a physician, or a 
sheriif, or a gamekeeper. If his son became a Protestant, he was withdrawn from 
paternal custody and intrusted to Protestant relatives, with a suitable provision by 
the father for his maintenance. A Catholic was not permitted to own a horse of 
greater value than five pounds. If he used a more reputable animal, he was bound to 
sell it for that sum to any Protestant who was disposed to buy. If a younger brother 
turned Protestant, he supplanted the elder in his birthright. A Catholic could not 
inherit from an intestate relative, however near. A Protestant solicitor who married 
a Catholic was disqualified from following his profession. Marriages of Protestants 
and Catholics, if performed by a priest, were annulled, and the priest was liable to 
be hanged. Rewards, varying according to the rank of the victim, were off"ered for 
the discovery of Catholic clergymen. In the early part of the century, a Catholic who 
was so daring as to enter the gallery of the House of Commons was liable to arrest." 
(Mackenzie's Nineteenth Century.) This cruel legislation extended even to the dis- 
couraging of the woolen manufacture in Ireland, in order to prevent competition and 
the injury of the English mill-owners. Many of these pitiable laws were abolished 
in the century that gave them birth ; others would have been annulled at an early 
date after the Union in 1801 had it not been for the violent opposition of George IV., 
supported by Mr. Peel and the Duke of Wellington. The agitation by O'Connell 
roused the country and aided much in inaugurating the era of reform. 



1848.] ENGLAND — TUE HOUSE OF HANOVER. 279 

nent* — the Chartists mustered on Kcmiington Common, 
intending to march through London to the House of Com- 
mons, to present a monster petition (said to contain five 
million signatures), and compel that body to yield to their 
demands. The government thereupon called out two hun- 
dred and fifty thousand special constables, and this remark- 
able demonstration of public opinion quelled the movement. 
Though the organization disbanded, the agitation bore fruit, 
and most of the reforms have since been granted. This was 
a contest for political power, but with it came one for cheap 
bread. 

An Anti-Corn-Law League was formed in Manches- 
ter (1839), having branches throughout the kingdom. At 
the head of this agitation were Richard Cobden and John 
Bright. They held the doctrine of free trade — that every 
man should be free to buy in the cheapest market and to 
sell in the dearest, without any restriction. On the other 
hand, the Protectionists claimed that high duties, by keep- 
ing up the price of grain, manufactures, etc., defended home 
industries against foreign competition. In the midst of the 
discussion, the potato crop of Ireland failed, and the famine 
in that country (1846) forced Robert Peel, the leader of the 
Conservatives in Parliament, to introduce a bill abolishing 
duties upon grain, cattle, etc. This repeal came into opera- 
tion in 1849. 

The First Locomotive. — The year 1830 is memorable 
for the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 
upon which passenger-cars were drawn by a locomotive- 
engine— the invention of George Stephenson. 

* " Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, 

But to be young was very heaven ! O times 
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways 
Of custom, law, and statute, took at once 
The attraction of a country romance ! 
Not favored spots alone, but the whole earth 
The beauty wore of promise,"— Wordsvjorth. 



280 ^THE KINETEEN^TH CENTUEY. [1837. 

Cheap Postage. — A young man named Rowland Hill 
brought forward the idea of penny postage. The scheme 
was laughed at, but it became a law in 1840.* 

The First World's Fair (1851) was held at London in 
the Crystal Palace — then a novel structure of iron and glass, 
coyering about nineteen acres of ground. Prince Albert, the 
royal consort, fostered this exhibition, which resulted most 
favorably, especially in its influence upon English art indus- 
tries. 

Crimean War (1854). — The Emperor Nicholas of Russia, 
anxious to seize the spoil of the " sick man," as the Sultan 
of Turkey was called, took possession of some provinces on 
the Danube, under the pretext of supporting the claims of 
the Greek Christians to certain holy places in Jerusalem. 
England and France united to aid the Sultan. An allied 
army, seventy thousand strong, was landed in the Crimea. 
The victory of the Alma enabled the troops to advance upon 
Sebastopol, a formidable fortress which gave the Czar the 
command of the Black Sea, and in whose harbor lay the fleet 
which menaced Constantinople and the Bosporus. The siege 
lasted nearly a year. Innumerable combats, two desperate 
battles — BalaMava\ and Inherman, incessant watchfulness 
by day and night, tKe fatiguing labor of the trenches, 
and the unhealthiness of the climate, tried the valor of the 
French and the constancy of the English. Finally, the 
French stormed the Malakoff, and the Russians evacuated 
the city. When the conquerors entered, they found such 
ruin, flame, and devastation as greeted Napoleon in the 
streets of Moscow. 

By the Treaty of Paris (1856), the Czar agreed to abandon 

* Walter Scott tells us that in his day the mail from Edinburgh to London often 
contained only a single letter— the postage being thirty-two cents. 

t This battle is famous for the charge of the Six Hundred so graphically described 
in Tennyson's popular poem : " Stormed at with shot and shell," 



18oG.] ENGLAND — THE HOUSE OF HANOVEK. 281 

his protectorate over the Danubian provinces ; the naviga- 
tion of the Danube was made free ; and the Russians were 
forbidden to have vessels of war on the Bkick Sea. 

Indian Mutiny (1857). — The sepoys, or native soldiers in 
the English service in India, revolted because their car- 
tridges were said to be greased with tallow or lard.* The 
white residents at Delhi,^ Cawnpore, and other points, were 
massacred with horrible barbarity. The Europeans at Luck- 
now held out against Nana Sahib until reinforced by General 
Havelock, who defended the city while Colin Campbell 
(Lord Clyde) and his Highlanders came to the rescue. The 
rebellion was finally crushed, and the East India Company 
(1859) transferred the government of India to. the Queen, 
who in 1876 was made Empress of India. 

Cotton Famine. — Our Civil War cut off the supply of 
cotton, so that, in the Lancashire mills alone, one hundred 
and fifty thousand oj)eratives were thrown out of employment, 
and one hundred and twenty thousand worked only half- 
time. The workingmen, who were generally Liberals, sym- 
pathized with the War for the Union, and patiently bore 
hunger and want, in devotion to their j)rinciples. 

Recent Reforms.— In 1867, a Reform Bill, carried by 
the Conservatives, under the leadership of Lord Derby and 
Mr. Disraeli, granted a franchise which amounts very nearly 
to household suffrage. In 1869, under Mr. Gladstone's ad- 
ministration, a bill was carried for the disestablishment and 
disendow^ment of the Established Church in Ireland, where 
the Catholics are the majority of the population ; in 1872, 
voting by ballot was introduced ; in 1870, and again in 1881, 
bills were adopted regulating tenant-rights in Ireland ; in 
1871, all religious tests for admission to office or degrees in 

* They regarded this as an insult to their religion ; since a Hindoo may not touch 
cow's fat ; or a Mohamnjedan, lard- 



282 THE iq^IKETEENTH CENTURY. [1870. 

the universities were abolished ; in 1870, an Educational 
Bill provided for the establishment of school boards in every 
district and the support of schools by taxation. 

III. GERMANY. 

Germanic Confederation. — The Holy Eoman Empire 
came to an end in 1806 — 1006 years after Pope Leo crowned 
Charlemagne at Rome. Upon Napoleon's downfall, it was 
hoped that the ancient empire would be restored. The patri- 
otic struggle for liberty had welded the petty nationalities, and 
the people did not wish their restoration. But, instead, the 
Congress of Vienna formed a German Confederation of 
thirty-nine states. A permanent diet was to sit at Frank- 
fort-on-Main, Austria having the presidency. 

Prussia, through the liberality of the Congress of Vienna, 
received back all the territory she had lost by the con- 
fiscations of Napoleon, and, in addition, Swedish Pomera- 
nia, the Ehinelands, and a part of Saxony. She was once 
more a great power, with an area of one hundred thousand 
square miles and a population of ten million people. 

The Holy Alliance (1815). — The sovereigns of Russia, 
Austria, and Prussia, after their triumph in 1815, formed a 
compact, agreeing " to regulate their conduct by the precepts 
of the Gospel," and also, as is generally believed from their 
subsequent conduct, to aid one another in suppressing the 
principles of liberty aroused by the French Revolution. 

The Demand for Freedom and Unity. — The princes 
in the Confederation promised to grant their people con- 
stitutions, but most of them forgot the agreement (p. 259). 
They generally opposed union and sought to crush its rising 
spirit in the universities. The questions of liberty and union 
were so blended, however, that in many minds the only 
thought was v/hich should first be secured. Quite a step was 



1838.] 



GERMANY. 



283 




THE ROYAL PALACE AT BERLIN. 



taken by Prussia's gradually becoming, after 1828, the center 
of the Zollverein, a commercial union between the German 
states which agreed to levy customs at a common frontier. 

The Revolution of '48 in France roused the German 
people anew to demand " freedom of speech, liberty of the 
press, and a constitutional government." The Teutonic love 
of freedom blazed forth in all the great cities. Various im- 
portant reforms had been instituted in Prussia, but a conflict 
now broke out in the streets of Berlin, and several persons were 
killed; whereupon, Frederick William IV. (Table, p. 220) 
put himself forward as the leader of the movement for Ger- 
man unity ; the army stood firm for the crown ; finally, a new 
constitution with a limited suffrage was granted the people, 
and order was re-established. 

In Austria, on the contrary, repression and arbitrary 
measures had been adopted, through the influence of Prince 
Metternich — the avowed friend of despotism. At Vienna, 



284 



THE NINETEENTH CENfURif, 



[ig4a 



an upnsing, headed by the students, drove Mettemich into 
exile, and such was the confusion that the emperor Ferdinand 
sought safet3z: in flight. * The excesses of the revolutionists, 
however, destroyed all hope of success. Ferdinand now abdi- 
cated in favor of his ne^^hew, Francis Joseph. 

In Hungary, the insurrection was more serious. Kossuth 

was the soul of the rev- 
olution. Austria was 
finally obliged to call in 
the Russians. An Aus- 
tro-Russian army of four 
hundred thousand, un- 
der the infamous Hay- 
nau (known in history 
as the "Hangman,)" 
entered Hungary and 
wreaked its vengeance 
on the hapless patriots. 
The surrender of the 
traitor Gorgey, Avith his 
entire army, ended the 
fruitless struggle. Kos- 
suth gave himself up to 
the Turks; he lay in 
prison until 1851, when he was set free by the intervention 
of the United States and England. 

War -with Denmark (1864). — Bismarck, the Prussian 
minister, induced Austria to join Prussia in wresting from 
Denmark tlie duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The 
division of the plunder so easily acquired caused renewed 
bitterness between the two rival countries. 




PORTRAIT OF COUNT BISMARCK. 



* " I want obedient subjects," said the emperor to the students at Laybach, 
not men of learning." 



and 



18GG.] 



GERMANY. 



285 



Seven-Weeks War (180G).— The jealousy between 
Prussia and Austria for the leadership in Germany, thus ag- 
gravated, continued, and 
Bismarck openly declar- 
ed that it could be settled 
only by " blood and iron." 
Excuses were easily 
found, and, in 1866, 
Prussia and Italy de- 
clared war against Aus- 
tria. In Italy, the Aus- 
trians were successful, 
but the Prussians — 
armed with the needle- 
gun, a new breech-load- 
ing rifle — routed the 
Austrians at Sadoiua/-' 
and conquered the Peace 
of Prague. Austria was 
forever shut out of Ger- 
many, besides paying a large indemnity for the expenses 
of the war. 

The North German Confederation was now organized. 
The N'orthern states w^ere thus joined under the presidency 
of Prussia, with a common constitution and assembly. The 
South German states — Baden, Bavaria, and Wiirtemberg — 
remained independent. 

Union of Germany. — When the French war broke out, 
the South German states joined Prussia, and the Crown 
Prince commanded their united army of over a million men. 




PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM, KING OF PRUSSIA. 



* "When the king and the crown prince met on the field after the hattle. the army 
struck lip the same old choral hj'mn, " Now let all hearts thank God," that the troops 
of Frederick the Great sung after the victory of Leuthen (p. 224). 



^86 THE Ki1TE1:EEJs*TH CENfl^KY. [1871. 

The enthusiasm of the struggle developed the national senti- 
ment. With victory, came a fresh desire for union. Finally, 
during the siege of Paris, in the hall of Louis XIV., in the 
Palace of Versailles, King William was. proclaimed Emperor 
of Germany (Jan. 18, 1871). The word Germany at last 
meant something more than "a mere geographical expression." 
Austria, after the Seven- Weeks War, granted the long- 
needed reforms. Hungary was given a constitution; in 
1867, Francis Joseph was crowned king; and Hungary has 
thenceforth been distinct, though united under the Austro- 
Hungarian monarchy. 

V. ITALY. 

1815 to 1848, — The history of Italy during this period 
is one of chronic insurrection. The Congress of Vienna left 
the people enslaved and divided. The dream of a restored 
nationality, nearly realized under Napoleon, was rudely dis- 
pelled; the old separations were renewed; the old tyrants were 
reseated. Once more, Austrian despotism hung like a mill- 
stone about the neck of the nation. The Carbonari (char- 
coal-burners), a secret society formed to resist Bourbon op- 
pression, numbered in Italy over a half-million members, with 
branches in other countries. An organization, known as 
Young Italy, was formed by Mazzini, an Italian refugee, who 
first advanced the idea of a united, free Italy. Besides open 
revolts, there were secret plots, while assassinations were only 
too frequently perpetrated in the name of liberty. But Aus- 
tria was strong enough, not only to hold her own possessions 
of Lombardyand Venice, but also to keep her creatures upon 
their thrones in the small states, and to crush the republican 
movement throughout the peninsula. There was one hope- 
ful sign. In the kingdom of Sardinia, where Charles Albert 
began to reign in 1831, a spirit of nationality prevailed. 



1848.] 



ITALY. 



m 



Revolution of '48. — The example of the French and the 
German patriots ronsocl the Italians to a new struggle. Mi- 
lan and Venice rose in arms. Charles Albert raised the ban- 
ner against Austria. For a time, nearly all Northern Italy 
was relieved from the Hapsburg yoke. But the patriot 
triumph was short. The Austrians gained so decisive a vic- 
tory at Novara (1849) that the broken-hearted Sardinian 
king resigned his crown to his son Victor Emmanuel II. 

Pope Pins IX. was the friend of the liberals, and had 
granted many rights to the people, but their demands in- 
creased during this re- 
publican year, and he 
finally fled from Eome. 
That city was then de- 
clared a republic, and 
Mazzini was elected chief 
of the Triumvirs, or mag- 
istrates. But, strangely 
enough, the French Ee- 
public espoused the cause 
of the Austrians and, 
though Garibaldi — the 
^^Hero of the red shirt," 
bravely defended Rome, 
it was carried by storm. 
The pope came back as an 
absolute ruler, and a French garrison was placed in the city. 

By the close of 1849, the insurrection had been crushed out 
everywhere, and tyranny seemed triumphant. But, in Sar- 
dinia, Victor Emmanuel maintained a constitutional govern- 
ment, and, more and more, men began to look to him as the 
champion of Italian freedom. He kept his word to his 
people, who called him the " Honest King." In 1853, 




PORTRAIT OF GARIBALDI. 



^8S 



THE HIKETEEi;rTH CEKTUEY* 



[1859.- 



Count Cavoiir, an ardent and wise friend of Italian unity, 
became his prime minister. He induced Emmanuel to win 
the good-will of France and England by helping them in the 
Crimean war. Accordingly, the alhed powers remonstrated 
with Ferdinand for his cruel rule in Italy, and, finally, 
France and Sardinia joined in a 

War against Austria (1859). — ^NTapoleon himself took 
the field. The combined French and Sardinian forces won 
the brilliant victories of Magenta and Solferino. Napoleon 
had promised '^to make Italy free from the Ticino to the 
Adriatic," and he seemed about to keep his word. But Prus- 
sia threatened to take the part of Austria, and Napoleon, 
without consulting Emmanuel, concluded the Peace ofVilla- 
franca. Lombardy was ceded to Sardinia. Soon after, Nice 
and Savoy were annexed to France. Tuscany, Modena, Par- 
ma, and Eomagna, by a 
popular vote, became 
subject to Sardinia. 
Thus, by the help of 
France, nine million 
people were added to 
this kingdom — the hope 
of Italy. 

Freedom of Sicily 
and Naples.— And now 
events moved on rapid- 
ly. The people of Na- 
ples and Sicily groaned 
under the cruel Bour- 
bon rule. Garibaldi, is- 
suing from his rocky re- 
treat of Caprera, landed at Marsala in Sicily, proclaiming 
himself dictator for Emmanuel. Palermo and Messina 




PORTRAIT OF VICTOR EMMANUEL. 



[1860. 



ITALY. 



28d 



quickly fell into his hands, and, crossing to the mainland, 
he entered Naples in triumph. The i^eople of Naples and 
Sicily now joined themselves to Sardinia. 




THE FRENCH ARMY OCCUPYING THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 



United Italy. — Emmanuers control was thus extended 
over all Italy, except the Austrian province of Venetia and 
the city of Eome, which the French held for the pope. 
The first Italian parliament met at Turin in 1861, and there 
Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed king of Ital}^ Count Ca- 
Your died shortly after, hut his pohcy of bringing his coun- 
try into European politics quickly bore fruit. As the result of 
Italy's joining the war between Austria and Prussia (1866), she 
got back Venice and Verona. Finally, during the struggle 
between France and Germany (1870), Napoleon called home 
the French troops from Rome, and Victor Emmanuel took 
possession of the Eternal Cit}^ The pope ceased to be a 
temporal prince, though he retained his spiritual power. 



290 . 1:HE KINETEEKTH CENTURf. 



V. TURKEY. 

The Progress of the Turks continued after the fall of 
Constantinople. Mohammed II. overthrew Greece and 
threatened Italy. Bosnia and Albania were annexed. The 
Crimea was wrested from the Genoese. Hungary was re- 
peatedly invaded. Twice, Vienna itself was besieged. All 
south-eastern Europe was finally conquered, save where 
the Montenegrins held their mountain fastnesses. Selim I., 
Mohammed II. 's grandson, extended his dominion over 
Mesopotamia, Assyria, Syria, and Egypt. The reign of 
Solyman, his son, marked the acme of the Turkish 
power (p. 130). 

The battle of Lepanto (1571), in which the combined fleets 
of Spain, Venice, Genoa, and the Pope, under Don John of 
Austria, destroyed the Turkish fleet, was the turning-point 
in the Ottoman progress. From that time, Poland, Hun- 
gary, and Austria, steadily drove back the hated infidel. 
Finally, the rise of Eussia in the 18th century gave the Turk 
a new enemy. Peter the Great dreamed of making the Black 
Sea a Russian lake, and, ever since, the avowed determi- 
nation of Russia has been the conquest of the effete nation 
that alone shuts off the mighty northern empire from the 
Mediterranean. The integrity of Turkey, however, has 
been, of late, a cardinal principle in European diplomacy. 
England especially, through jealousy of Russia's power in 
India, has supported the Sultan. Were it not for English 
interference, the remaining four millions of people upon 
whom there fell, at the beginning of Modern history, the 
calamity of Turkish conquest,* would ere this have achieved 

* " The system of organized robbery which is known in Europe by the name of 
the Turkish government has changed into a wiklerness one of the fairest regions of 
the world. Population, in spite of the amazing wealth of the soil, is steadily declin- 
ing, and has already sunk to less than one-third of its numbers under the Romans. 



GREECE. 291 

their freedom, and the unwelcome, barbarous Moslem in- 
truders into Europe would have been finally expelled. It is 
a hopeful sign that, after the last war between Turkey and 
Kussia, the Berlin Treaty (1878), negotiated by the Great 
Powers, forced the Porte to give up vast provinces and grant 
religious toleration. 

VI. GREECE. 

Greece endured the hateful Turkish bondage for nearly 
four hundred years. Every rising for freedom was crushed 
with terrible cruelty. In the year 1821, however, the spirit 
of liberty flamed into inextinguishable revolt. Many Eng- 
lishmen — among whom Lord Byron, the poet, is most re- 
nowned — took sides with this heroic people. The beautiful 
island of Scio was laid waste by the Ottomans (1822) ; and, 
the next year, the Suliote patriot, Marco Bozzaris, during a 
night attack upon the enemy's camp, fell in the moment of 
victory. In this desperate contest of years, one-half of the 
population is said to have perished, and large tracts of land 
were reduced to a desert. The Turks now called the Egyp- 
tians to their help, and Grreece seepaed likely to be over- 
whelmed. 

Finally, England, Russia, and France formed a league to 

So powerfully does the increasing desolation affect the mind, that recent travelers 
have expressed the apprehension that the human race must become extinct in the 
Ottoman dominions. Enormous tracts, which formerly supported in comfort a 
numerous population, are now abandoned. The once populous land is covered with 
ruins, often hid from view by the rank vegetation of the fertile wilderness. Between 
Angora and Constantinople, forty or fifty villages have become extinct during the 
present century. Toward Smyrna, two hundred villages have been forsaken since 
the middle of last century. Smyrna itself has declined in thirty years from eighty 
thousand inhabitants to forty-one thousand. Daring the present century, Candia 
has sunk from fifty thousand inhabitants to ten thousand. A traveler in the north- 
em portions of the empire found, in a ride of seventy miles through what he re- 
garded as an earthly paradise, not so much as a single inhabitant. Approaching 
Constantinople from the north, one rides almost to the gates of the city without any 
trace of a road through wild grass which reaches to the horse's girths. Nine-tenths 
of Mesopotamia lie unused by man. In the rich provinces of Moldavia and Walla- 
chia only one-twentieth of the soil is cultivated. Never has the goodness of Provi- 
dence been so utterly frustrated, during long centuries, by the vileness of man." 



292 THE K'INETEEKTS CENTtJRY. 

aid the Hellenes in this unequal struggle. Their combined 
fleets destroyed the Turkish and Egyptian fleets in the bay 
of Navarino — the old Pylos (1827). The French troops 
drove the Egyptians out of the Peloponnesus. So, at last, 
the land of Plato and Pericles was free again. 

VII. THE NETHERLANDS. 

The Netherlands, after Louis abdicated the throne, was 
annexed by Napoleon to France. In 1813, the people threw 
off the French yoke and recalled the House of Orange to the 
government. The Congress of Vienna united the northern 
and the southern provinces. The Belgians, however, disliked 
the Hollanders, and a spark from the French Revolution of 
1830, falling among this restive people, kindled the flame of 
insurrection. The independence of Belgium was declared, 
and Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-G-otha was called to the throne. 

VIII. JAPAN. 

The Ruling Dynasty of Japan boasts of an unbroken 
succession during twenty-five centuries. Its founder, their 
chronicles assert, was Jimmu, from whom the present Mikado, 
or emperor, is the one hundred and twenty-third in direct 
descent. The assumed date of Jimmu's ascension (660 B. c.) 
is styled the year 1 of the Japanese era.* In the sixth century 
A.D., Buddhism was introduced (through Oorea) from China ; 
with it came the Asiatic ciyilization. A stream of skilled 
artisans, scholars, teachers, and missionaries, poured into 
the country, and, thenceforth, the Japanese character was 
molded by the same forces that gave to the Celestial em- 
pire its peculiar features. 

The Shogun, or Tycoon, the commander-in-chief of the 

* This chronology would make Jimmu a contemporary of the Assyrian monarch 
Assliur-bani-pal (Anc, Peo., p. 49). 



JAPAK. 293 

army, acquired in 1192 the entire control of political affairs, 
the Mikado retaining only the religious supremacy and the 
symbols of royalty. Under this dual form of government, 
there grew up a feudal systefti, the military leaders, or 
daimios, securing land in fief, erecting castles, and support- 
ing a host of retainers. This relic of the Middle Ages lasted 
until 18G8, when a revolution restored the Mikado to supreme 
power, destroyed the Shogun's rule, and abolished the feudal 
titles and tenures. At the command of the Mikado, two hun- 
dred and fifty vassal nobles, resigning their princely incomes, 
lands, and retinues, retired to private life. 

The Portuguese, during the era of maritime adventure 
in the sixteenth century, came to Japan. The missionary 
quickly followed the sailor. Francis Xavier, the apostle to 
the Indies, introduced Christianity (1549), and, in time, six 
hundred thousand converts were made. This second influx 
of foreign civilization was stopped by the expulsion of the 
Portuguese and a violent persecution of the Christian Japan- 
ese. The history of the church in EurojDe presents no more 
devoted faith or heroic constancy than were shown by the 
martyrs of this bloody period. The Dutch alone were allowed 
a residence upon an island in the harbor of Nagasaki, and to 
exchange a single ship-load of merchandise per year. 

Commodore Perry, with a squadron of United States 
vessels, entered the harbor of Yokahama (1854). He made a 
treaty with Japan and secured the opening of certain ports to 
our trade. Since then, the third foreign wave has swept over 
the Sun-land, Successive commercial treaties have been made. 
The former exclusiveness has been broken down, old ideas 
have been uprooted, and the nation has been thrust into the 
path of modern civilization. In 1875, the Mikado established 
a senate ; in 1878, he inaugurated proA'incial and depart- 
mental assemblies; and, in 1881, he promised to convoke in 



^94 



THE KlI^^ETEEKTH CEKTURY. 



1890 a national congress. Thus, in Japan, a single genera- 
tion will witness governmental changes that required in 
Europe centuries to perfect. 

READING REFERENCES. 

For worJcs on the French Eevolution, seep. '252.—Muller''s History of Recent Times, 
translated by Peters {commended to all as an excellent resume of General History from 
1816-81).— McCarthy's Epoch of Beform {Epochs of History Series).— Griffith'' s The 
Mikado's Empire.— McCarthy's History of Our Oivn Times.— Kinglake's Invasion 
of the Crimea.— Hunt's History of Italy {Freeman' s Historical Course).— May's Con- 
stitutional History of England {esijedally valuable in its account of reforms).— Mac- 
kenzie's The Nineteenth Century .— Wrightson' s History of Modern Italy, 1815- 50.— 
Felion's Ancient and Modern Greece. 




THE FOUR CLASSES OF JAPANESE SOCIETY — MILITARY, AGRICULTURAL, LABORING, AND 

MERCANTILE. 
(From a Drawing by a Native Artist.) 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. 



1. On a monument of Canova's in St. Peter's is inscribed the fol- 
lowing names of British sovereigns — James III., Charles III., and 
Henry IX. Who were they ? 

2. Who was the " Snow King " ? The " Winter King" ? 

3. We read, in the history of France, of the " Constitution of the Year 
III."; the "Constitution of the Year VIII."; the "Revolution of the i8th 
Brumaire"; the " Revolution of the i8th Fructidor," etc. Explain. 

4. A historian says, " Morgarten was the Marathon of Switzer- 
land." Explain. 

5. What great war was waging in Europe during our War of 1812? 

6. Who was said to be the " First man in Europe and the second in 
France "? 

7. In what great emergency did the Dutch propose to imitate the 
Athenians? 

8. Compare Cardinals Wolsey and Richelieu. 

9. It is said the " Duke of Guise under Henry III. threatened to be 
another Pepin to a second Childeric " Explain. 

ID. Who were the " Sea Beggars"? 

11. Who was the " Nephew of his uncle "? 

12. Name the revolutions in France since 1789. 

13. What names of kings are common to England, France, and 
Germany ? 

14. What name is confined to England ? France ? Germany ? 
Russia? 

15. Which was the most illustrious Henry of England? France? 
Germany ? 

16. What woman was the prime-mover in the massacre of St. Bar- 
tholomew ? 

17. What English king had six wives? 

18. What English king assumed the title of King of France? 

19. Compare the Charleses of England with those of France. 

20. How many kings ruled in England during the reign of Louis 
XIV. ? 

21. What was the difference between the titles " King of the Ro- 
mans " and "Emperor of Germany"? 

22. What German king kept an English king in prison until ran- 
somed? 



^1 HISTORICAL EECREATIOKS. 

23. Name the German emperors who led an army into Italy 

24. Who was the " First Gentleman in Europe"? 

25. Who was the " Little man in red stockings "? 

26. When did Russia first meddle in the affairs of western Europe? 

27. Which is the oldest nation in Europe ? The youngest? 

28. Who was the " Last of the Tribunes "? 

29. Who was the " Madman of the North "? 

30. What Stuart sovereign did not meet a tragical end ? 

31. What high office did Wolsey hope to secure ? 

32. Who was the " Silent One "? 

33. What was the Babylonish Captivity ? 

34. Who was the " First of the Stuarts "? 

35. Name the different World's Fairs, 

36. What were the so-called Reform Banquets? 

37. Who was the " Conqueror of Crecy "? 

38. Describe the Revolutions, of 1848 in the different countries of 
Europe. 

39. What tAree English kings, each the i/zird of his name, reigned 
over fifty years ? 

40. When did France have a crazy king ? England ? 

41. Who was the first of the Norman Kings to die in England ? 

42. Who was the " Merry Monarch"? 

43. State the time, the cause, and the result upon Prussia, of the 
Seven-Years War. The Seven-Months War. The Seven-Weeks War. 

44. Who was the " Conqueror of Blenheim "? 

45. The Scots termed the Pretender, "James VIII." Explain. 

46. What corresponding financial bubbles were blown in England 
and in France early in the i8th century ? 

47. Who was the " Great Commoner "? 

48. Explain the sentence in Macaulay's History: "Hundreds of 
thousands whom the Popish Plot had scared into Whiggism, had been 
scared back by the Rye House Plot into Toryism." 

49. Who was called the " Best of the Georges "? 

50. Who was Louis XVII. of France? 

51. Who was " King Hal "? 

52. Who was Napoleon II. of France? 

53. A historian remarks, " In 1806, the 120th of the Caesars became 
only Francis II, of Austria." Explain. 

54. Who was the " Citizen King "? 

55. Whom did Carlyle style the " Great Prussian Drill Sergeant"? 

56. Who was the " Conqueror of Azincourt"? 

57. How many republics have been established in France? 

58. Name the principal battles of Conde. 

59. A historian remarking upon the reign of Louis XVI. of France, 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. Ill 

sa)'S, " There was now no Mayor of the Pahico, no Count of Paris, no 
Henry IV., to found a new dynasty." Explain. 

60. Who was "Queen Bess"? 

61. What was the cause of the long hostility between England and 
France ? 

62. What is the European States-System ? 

63. Who was the " Iron Duke "? 

64. Who was the " Greatest of the Plantagenets "? 

65. State the origin of the Methodists. The Friends. 

66. When was the last States-General in France convened ? 

67. Who was the first Prince of Wales ? 

68. Who was the " King of Bourges"? 

69. Describe the effect of the Norman Conquest of England. 

70. When Charles XII. invaded Russia, Peter said: " My brother 
Charles affects to play the part of Alexander; but I think he will not 
find in me a Darius." Explain. 

71. Who was the " Old Pretender"? The " Young Pretender"? 

72. What prime-minister governed the English Parliament by 
bribery ? 

73. Who was "Good Queen Anne"? 

74. Contrast the conduct of the spectators at the execution of 
Charles I. and of Louis XVI. 

75. Who was the " Napoleon of Peace "? 

76. Who was the' first king of England ? 

77. Compare the fate and the character of Richard II. and Ed- 
ward II. of England. * 

78. Who was styled the " King of the French^'? 

79. Why did the Normans finally blend so easily with the Anglo- 
Saxons in England "? 

80. What were the causes of the French Revolution ? 

81. What is meant by the Balance of Power? 

82. In what respect did the conquest by the Turks resemble that 
by the Germans? 

83. When did the tie7's e'tat get its first representation in France ? 

84. Who were Wesley and Whitefield ? 

85. Compare the close of the Carlovingian dynasty in France with " 
that of the Merovingian. 

86. Tell what the Normans did in Europe. 

87. Who was the " Prisoner of Ham "? (Napoleon III.) 

88. What was the Pragmatic Sanction ? 

89. Why are there so many French artisans in England ? 

90. Who was Henry V. of France? 

91. What kings had titles referring to physical qualities ? To men- 
tal qualities ? 



iv HISTOEICAL RECREATIONS. 

g2. What was the Treaty of Paris ? Vienna ? Presburg ? Lune- 
ville? Amiens? Campo Formio ? Passau ? Tilsit? Utrecht? Aix- 
la-Chapelle ? Nimeguen ? Ryswick ? 

93. State the causes, effects, principal battles, and prominent gen- 
erals of the Hundred-Years War. 

94. Bound France at the ascension of Capet. 

95. What event in English history did Napoleon's dispersion of the 
Five Hundred resemble? 

96. Who was the " Grand Monarch "? 

97. Who were the most despotic kings named in history? 

98. Who is the " Count of Chambord "? 

99. Who fought the battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and 
Malplaquet ? 

100. When and where were the reformers called Protestknts ? 

loi. Who were the "VVhigs? The Tories? What was the origin of 
these names ? 

102. What was the Fronde ? 

103. For what is Sully famous ? 

104. Quote some noted historical passages from Shakspere. 

105. When did the Germans first invade France? 

106. Who were the " Do-nothing kings"? 

107. In how many great battles were the Austrians defeated by Na- 
poleon ? 

108. What French king made the first invasion of Italy? The last ? 

109. Who was the " Hero of Rocroi "? 

no. Who fought the battles of Fontenoy, Raucaux, and Lawfelt ? 

111. Who was the "Sailor King"? 

112. For what is Francis I. noted in history? Louis XIV ? Louis 
XV.? Henry IV. of France? Henry IV. of Germany? 

113. What was the Edict of Nantes? 

114. Who was the last king of France? 

115. What two great generals died during a tempest ? 

116. State what was decided by the Peace of Westphalia. 

117. Who was " Corporal Violet"? 

118. Who fought the battles of Rocroi, Freiburg, Nordlingen, and 
Lens ? 

119. What French kings reigned during the time of the Crusades? 

120. For what is Colbert noted ? Louvois ? 

121. Who were the Huguenots? 

122. State the principal events in the life of Luther. 

123. Who were the Nonconformists ? 

124. Name the chief kings of the fourteenth century. The eighteenth. 

125. Who was king of France in 1066? 1572? 1648? 1776? 
J26. For what was Tetzel noted ? 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS V 

127. What important event occurred at the Diet of Worms? 

128. Who was the great rival of Charles V, ? 

129. What was Napoleon's first great victory? His last? 

130. What was the Confession of Augsburg? 

131. Who were the Puritans? The Separatists? The Independents ? 

132. Explain the following sentence used by a historian : " Pope 
Gregory XIII. saw in Henry HI, a second Louis V., and in Henry 
Duke of Guise, a new Hugh Capet." 

133. Tell the story of the Spanish Armada. 

134. Describe the English Revolution of 1688. 

135. Whose motto was, " Divide and Govern"? 

136. Describe the pomp, power, and fate of Wallenstein. 

137. How many great battles did Napoleon lose ? 

138. Name the causes, effects, duration, principal battles, and prom- 
inent generals of the War of the Spanish Succession. 

139. What was the object of the Council of Trent? 

140. Describe the events by which the Church of England was 
separated from Rome. 

141. Tell the story of Essex and the ring. 

142. What was the life-purpose of William, Prince of Orange ? 

143. Who was the "Little Corporal"? 

144. What was the Tennis-court oath ? 

145. What was the cause of the downfall of Napoleon I.? Napo- 
leon III.? 

146. What English monarch was the contemporary of Charles V. 
and Luther ? 

147. What was the fate of Archbishop Cranmer? 

148. Name and distinguish the three famous princes of Orange. 

149. Describe the sack of Magdeburg. 

150. What French kings reigned during the time of the Hundred- 
Years War? 

151. Was Henry VIII. favorable to Luther? 

152. What effect did the Massacre of St. Bartholomew have upon the 
civil war in France ? 

153. What marriage laid the foundation of the rivalry between the 
houses of Austria and France ? 

154. Who prepared the Book of Common Prayer? 

155. Who was John Calvin? 

156. Name the best kings in the Capetian line. The Carlovingian 
line. The Tudor line. The Stuart line. The Bourbon line. The Plan- 
tagenet line. 

157. What was the character of Catharine de' Medici? 

158. Describe the last days of Charles V. 

159. What was the object of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes ? 



VI HISTOKICALEECEEATIOIN'S. 

i6o. What peculiar tactics did Napoleon adopt at Austerlitz ? 

i6i. What was the effect of the battle of Naseby ? j 

162. What were Richelieu's aims ? ' j 

163. What was the peculiarity of the reign of Charles II. of England ? j 

164. What French king married Mary, afterward Queen of Scots ? ^ 

165. What was meant by Ship monev? 

166. What was the Long Parliament ? < 

167. What queens of France were divorced ? j 

168. What is meant by the " Sun of Austerlitz"? ■ 

169. What was the duration of the so-called Hundred- Years War? 

170. What was the Gunpowder Plot? 

171. Tell something about the character of Marlborough. j 

172. What was " Pride's Purge"? J 

173. What was the Battle of the Nations? : 

174. What was the Day of the Sections? 

175. What was the Seven-Years War called in America? l 

176. Who was the " Hero of Marston Moor"? ^ 

177. For what is the elder Pitt noted ? 

178. How many Henrys were among the kings of France? ;■ 

179. How many French kings have surrendered to the enemy? | 

180. Describe the glory of Cromwell's Protectorate, ■! 

181. What king learned the ship-builder's trade? \ 

182. What great capitals of Europe did Napoleon enter in triumph? ' 

183. Sketch the life of Charles XII. of Sweden. : 

184. What does the change of name from Northmen to Normans in- \ 
dicate? j 

185. What infant in h;s cradle received the title of the " King of | 
Rome "? (See Brief Hist. France.) i 

186. In what battle were spurs of more service than swords? \ 

187. Who were the Leaguers? \ 

188. What was Walpole's policy? , 

189. Who were the Schoolmen ? 

190. Who were the Ironsides? ■ 

191. Name the great battles fought between the French and the "•. 
English. ? 

192. What was the Rump Parliament? ,' 

193. Who is sometimes styled Napoleon IV. ? ;" 

194. Why was Cromwell's rule distasteful to the English? , 

195. How many coalitions leading to war have been made against ] 
France ? | 

196. How many years have the descendants of Capet occupied the 
throne of France? i 

197. What was the Declaration of Rights? ] 

198. Who was John Law? i 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. Vll 

199. What was the Black Hole? The Black Death? 

200. Wliich was the first victory of the French Republic? Its effect? 

201. Should Louis XVI. be blamed for the Revolution? 

202. How many times did Napoleon enter Vienna as a conqueror? 

203. When did Kossuth appear in history? 

204. Describe the Reign of Terror. 

205. How many years has the government of France been a repub- 
lic? An empire ? 

206. Name the principal actors in the Jacobin rule during the French 
Revolution. 

207. Who were the Carbonari ? 

208 Where are the keys of the Bastile? 

209. What were the assi gnats? 

210. What was the Test Act? 

211. What great poet helped Greece achieve its freedom? 

212. Who was the Black Prince? 

213. What great events occurred in the time of Philip I.? 

214. What was the Renaissance ? 

215. Illustrate how often, in history, a strong king has been followed 
by a weak one. 

216. What was the first English Reform Bill ? 

217. What great war was marked by the capture of a king and a 
pope, and the sack of Rome ? 

218. What great political crime was perpetrated soon after the Seven- 
Years War? 

2ig. To what line of kings did Charles V. of France belong? 
Henry IV. of France? Henry IV. of England ? Henry IV. of Germany ? 
Louis XV. ? Charles the Simple of France ? 

220. Who was " Father Fritz "? 

221. What was the German Confederation ? When was it formed ? 

222. On the public buildings in Paris are inscribed the words — 
" Liberte, Egalite, Equalite." When did this motto take its rise? 

223. Wh)^ was not the art of printing discovered earlier than the 
15th century? (This question is designed to bring up the general 
relation of supply and demand.) 

224. Who was the " Corsican Adventurer"? 

225. Name the great victories of Luxemburg. 

226. How did Marlborough's fall affect continental affairs? 

227. What memorable event occurred at the siege of Leyden in 1574 ? 

228. In what battle did Gustavus Adolphus fall ? 

229. What victories did the Prince of Orange win over the French? 

230. What was the South Sea Bubble ? 

231. How is the history of Maria Theresa linked with that of Fred- 
erick the Great? 



Vlii HISTOKICAL RECREATION^S. 

232. What monarch wore high-heeled shoes to increase his stature ? 

233. What is meant by the elder and the younger branch of the 
Bourbons? 

234. Name some standard Life of Frederick the Great. Louis XIV. 
Charles XIL Peter the Great. Napoleon, Charles V. 

235. What was the Mississippi scheme? How did it aflfect this 
country ? 

236. Whence did the French derive their love of a strong, centralized 
government? 

237. Name the standard Histories of England, and state their pecu- 
liarities and the periods they cover. 

238. When and by whom was St. Petersburg founded ? 

239. How many Johns have reigned in France? In England? 

240. Sketch the character of the " Four Georges." 

241. When and how did France lose Canada? 

242. What kings were assassinated ? 

243. What ruler occupied a different bed every night ? 

244. Illustrate the love of his soldiers for Napoleon I. 

245. What was the Golden Bull ? 

246. What was the Aulic Council ? 

247. Who were the Girondists ? 

248. Who were the Roundheads? The Cavaliers? 

249. How did the character of George III. aifect this country? 

250. Name the great men who clustered about Louis XIV. 

251. What women have exerted a great influence on French history ? 

252. What was the fate of Marat? Danton ? Robespierre? 

253. What great victories did Nelson achieve? Effect? 

254. When, where, and between whom was the battle of Guinegate 
fought? Steinkirk ? Lens? Blenheim? Jena? Pavia? Waterloo? 
Wagram ? Oudenarde ? 

255. What influence did our Revolutionary War have upon France? 

256. What great battle finally checked the Turkish advance in 
Europe? 

257. Describe the Retreat from Moscow. 

258. Sketch the Growth of the Papacy after the Fall of Rome. 

259. What was Queen Anne's War called in Europe ? 

260. What monarch persecuted the Protestants in France, and pro- 
tected them in Germany? 

261. With what European nations was England engaged in war dur- 
ing our Revolution ? 

262. What modern nation, imitating ancient Rome, has been gov- 
erned by a consul ? 

263. In what century was the Age of Louis XIV,? The Age oi 
Elizabeth? The Age of Richelieu? 



UISTORICAL RECREATIONS. IX 

264. Who suppressed the Templars? 

265. What was our King William's War called in Europe? 

266. What great battles have been fought on the plains of Leipsic? 

267. What was the point of difference between the Calvinists and 
the Lutherans? 

268. Name the principal battles of Napoleon I. 

269. Give an account of Napoleon at the Bridge of Lodi. 

270. What were the Berlin decrees? 

271. What is meant in French history by the terms, The Revolution? 
The Hundred Days? The Restoration? 

272. For wl^at achievement is Sobieski noted ? 

273. Who were the Janissaries? 

274. Sketch Wellington's career. 

275. Who was the "Exile of St. Helena"? 

276. Duruy says, " Napoleon HI. was not a royal do-nothing." Ex- 
plain the allusion. 

277. What was the cause of the long hatred between England and 
France ? 

278. What great statesman died on hearing of the battle of Austerlitz? 

279. When was the temporal power of the Pope founded? 

280. " The dream of Charlemagne and Charles V. was Napoleon's 
also." Explain. 

281. What was the Zollverein? 

282. What were the causes of the French Revolution of 1830? 1848? 
1871? 

283. For what is the year 800 noted ? 1000? 1066? 1346? 1415 ? 
1492? 1494? 1517? 1525? 1558? 1571 ? 1572? 1588? 1598? 
1630? 1648? 1666? 1704? 1707? 1756? 1775? 1789? 

284. Sketch Napoleon's Egj-ptian campaign. 

285. What was the object of the Anti-Corn-Law League? 

286. Who were the Chartists? 

287. Name some Italians who have attained prominence in French 
politics. 

288. What was the effect upon European history of tlie marriage of 
Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian ? 

289. What is the Code Napoleon ? 

290. What was the kingdom of Burgundy ? 

291. What curious story is told of Rollo's doing homage for his fief? 

292. How did Charlotte Corday's dagger precipitate the Reign of 
Terror ? 

293. Name some incident of the battle of Ivry. (Br. Hist. France.) 

294. What was Cavour's policy ? 

295. What was Luther's object in posting the ninety-five theses on 
the cathedral door? 



X HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. 

296. What child-kings have occupied the throne of France? Of 
England ? 

297. Who is the " Sick Man "? 

298. What became of Josephine after the Fall of Napoleon? Maria 
Louisa? (See Brief Hist. France.) 

299. Where did the Charge of the Six Hundred occur? 

300. Name the causes and effects, the duration, the principal battles, 
and the prominent generals of the Seven-Years War. 

301. What French king had the longest reign? The shortest? 

302. What was the effect of the Battle of Morgarten ? Nancy? Wa- 
terloo ? Jena? Jemmapes? Runnymede? Pavia? 

303. Describe the state of the church when Luther appeared. 

304. What three great European monarchs were contemporaneous 
in the i6th century ? 

305. How many French kings have been dethroned? 

306. What will be the probable effect upon Italy of the Suez canal ? 

307. What caused the hostility between Zwingle and Luther ? 

308. Who was the " Golden-footed Dame "? 

309. When did a charge of a small body of cavalr}' decide a great 
battle? 

310. How many times have foreign armies taken Paris? 

311. What was the Holy Alliance? 

312. What is meant by the Three days of July? 

313. What folly did Prince Rupert commit at the battle of Naseby ? 

314. Why did Francis L form an alliance with the Turks? 

315. What three kings in succession led great armies into Italy? 

316. Who was the chevalier " without fear and without reproach "? 

317. What king sent his own sons to prison in order to release him- 
self? 

318. Relate some anecdote, or state some interesting fact concerning 
Cromwell. Napoleon. Louis XIV. Peter the Great. Charles XII. 
Charlemagne. Mary Queen of Scots. Elizabeth. 

319. What was the Smalcaldic War ? 

320. Explain the coup d'etat of December 2. 

321. What was the League of Cambrai ? 

322. State the causes of the Guelph and Ghibelline feud. 

323. Name the great events that marked the beginning of the 
Modern Era. 

324. What was the War of the Investiture? 

325. When and where was gunpowder first used in battle ? 

326. What was the needle-gun? 

327. What was an Interdict? 

328. What curious connection is there between St. Peter's at Rome 
and the Reformation ? 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. XI 

329. Tell the sad story of Lady Jane Grey. 

330. Distinguish between the two Maurices named in history. 

331. Name the leaders in the French Civil-Religious War. 

332. Who was the First Bourbon king? 

333. What were Mary Stuart's claims to the English throne? 

334. What was the Conquest of Granada? How is that event con- 
nected with our history ? 

335. What was Magna Charta? 

336. What were the causes of the Revival of Learning? 

337. Who was Tilly ? 

338. What is the tricolored flag ? 

339. Who was the "Horace of France"? 

340. Describe Charles H.'s alliance with Louis XIV. 

341. In what respect did Charles I. resemble his father? 

342. What great battles were won with the long-bow ? 

343. Compare the influence of the discovery of gunpowder with 
that of printing. 

344. What points of contrast were there between the first Stuart 
king of England and the Tudors? 

345. What is meant by the " Divine right of kings"? 

346. What was the Triple Alliance? 

347. Name two instances in which a spider has changed the fate of 
a great man. 

348. Describe the Saracenic civilization in Spain. 

349. What event caused Wolsey's fall ? 

350. Show how the doctrines and forms of the English Church were 
shaped under Edward VI. 

351. \\ nat were the greatest events of the 15th century? i6th? 
17th? iSth? 

352. What effect did the Crusades have upon Europe? 

353. What was the Congress of Vienna? 

354. Sketch the steps by which Prussia became the head of Ger- 
many. 

355. With what generals are the battles of Fleurus, Steinkirk, and 
Neerwinden connected ? 

356. In w^hat great campaign was the bayonet first used ? 
' 357. How did Richelieu capture Rochelle ? 

358. Who was the " Upholsterer of Notre Dame "? 

359. What is meant by the Devastation of the Palatinate? 

360. Who were the Moors of Spain? 

361. What was the Ladies' Peace? 

362. Who were the Knights of St, John? 

363. State the " pivotal point," or the tactics, or some marked inci- 
dent that decided the issue of the following battles and by which they 



xil HISTORICAL RECREATlOKg.' 

can be remembered : Pavia. Leipsic. Lech. Liitzen. Freiburg. 
Marston Moor. Naseby. Battle of the Boyne. Plains of Abraham. 
Lodi. Arcole. Rivoli. Austerlitz. Waterloo. 

364. What king wrote an essay against the use of tobacco ? 

365. What was the Petition of Right ? 

366. What was " Thorough"? 

367. Who were the Covenanters ? 

368. What was the effect of Luther's translating the Bible ? 

369. Describe the extent and power of the Spanish Empire under 
Charles V. and Philip IL 

370. Who were the Jacobites ? 

371. Describe the amusements of three noted kings reigning in the 
early part of the i8th century. 

372. Quote Johnson's verses upon Charles XIL 

373. What event marked the opening of the i8th century? 

374. Name the last battle in which an English king fought in 
person. 

375. What monarch said that he "treated as a prince and not as a 
merchant "? 

376. When did a death save a great king? 

377. Tell the story of the famous Wind-mill, still shown at Potsdam. 

378. State the steps of the Unification of Italy. 

379. Who was the " Hero of the red shirt "? 

380. What effect did the Franco-German War of '71 have upon Italy? 

381. What War was brought on by the closing of two churches ? By 
the massacre of a congregation ? 

382. How did Italy become a province of the Eastern Empire? 

383. What remarkable man was born in Arabia in the 6ih century ? 

384. Explain why the Crusaders encountered in Palestine both 
Turks and Saracens. 

385. What tales describe Arabian manners and customs in the 8th 
century? 

386. What complaint was made against the earliest Hanoverian 
kings of England? 

387. During how many years was England a republic ? 

388. Which one of Napoleon's generals did the Congress of Vienna 
allow to retain his throne? 

389. Who was the author of the Inductive method of reasoning? 

390. Mention some of Mohammed's doctrines. 

391. What was the Continental System ? 

392. Why did the Puritans emigrate to America? 

393. What literature was diffused by the Fall of Constantinople? 

394. Describe the Expulsion of the Moors from Spain by Philip III. 

395. Show how the trade to India has enriched Europe. 



HISTORICAL RECREATIOKS. Xlll 

3g6. What was the greatest extent of the Saracen empire? 

397. How many queens have ruled England ? 

398. Name the " Four Conquests of England." 

399. Which is the longest war named in European History ? 

400. Sketch the principal steps in the growth of Constitutional 
Liberty in England. 

401. Do the Turks belong in Europe? 

402. State the cause, duration, decisive battle, and effect of the War 
of the Roses. 

403. What English reign coincided with three French reigns and, 
vice versa, what French reign coincided with three English ones? 

404. Sketch the principal features of Feudalism. 

405. Who was the " Monk of-Cluny "? 

406. Who was the " Great Captain "? 

407. What remarkable men lived during the last decade of the 15th 
century ? 

408. What famous king died in a pool of water by the road-side ? 

409. What Treaty was negotiated upon a raft in the river ? 

410. How long was Hanover joined to England ? 

411. What solitary act of courage did Richard II. show? 

412. Who was Henry the Fowler? 

413. Contrast early German with early French history. 

414. Is there a sharp division between any two ages in history? 

415. What Dutch admiral tied a broom to his masthead ? 

416. How long after the battle of Hastings did the Great Fire at 
London occur? 

417. Repeat the epigram upon Charles I. 

418. What daughter helped expel her father from his throne? 

419. Who was Peter Zimmermann ? 

420. Who was the Great Elector ? 

421. What king had a body-guard of giants? 

422. When did the Battle of the Three Emperors occur ? 

423. When did the Pope come to Paris, to crown a French king? 

424. When did the birth of an heir cost an English king his crown ? 

425. Tell the story of Maria Theresa before the Hungarian Diet. 

426. Was Cromwell justified in executing Charles I.? 

427. What was the New Model ? 

428. What two great men had the power, but dare not take the title, 
of king? 

429. Sketch the general characteristics of the Stuarts. The Tudors. 

430. What was the Praise-God Barebone's Parliament? 

431. What was the longest gap between two successive English par- 
liaments? Two French States-Generals? 

432. Who said " Better a drowned land than a lost land "? 



XIV HISTORICAL RECREATEOKS. 

. 433. What was " Morton's fork "? 

434. " Francis I. on his way to Paris from Madrid vapored much of 
Regulus "? Explain. 

435. Charles V. once said, " I do not intend to blush like Sigis- 
mund." Explain. 

436. What English kings were authors? 

437. What was the Revolt of the Beggars ? 

438. Who said " Some birds are too big for any cage "? 

439. Who was the " Tyrant of the Escurial "? 

440. Why did not Pope Clement VII. dare to offend Charles V. ? 

441. What English minister lost his head for getting his king a 
homely wife ? 

442. Who was the first queen-regnant of England ? 

443. Who was styled the "■ Flower of Chivalrie "? 

444. What kings have expelled from their dominions large classes 
of their subjects ? 

445. Contrast the general characteristics of the Middle Ages with 
those of the Modern Era. 

446. Who was the "Kingmaker"? 

447. What was the Holy Roman Empire ? 

448. Name several instances of the general persecuting spirit of 
former times. 

449. What English author defends the character and conduct of 
Henry VIIL? 

450. Describe the growth and influence of free cities in the Middle 
Ages. 

451. Mr. Bagehot writes "The slavish parliament of Henry VIII. 
grew into the murmuring parliament of Queen Elizabeth, the mutinous 
parliament of James I., and the rebellious parliament of Charles I." 
Explain. 

452. What great events occurred in 1689? 

453 Was Napoleon I.'s reign a permanent benefit to France? 
What was its general effect upon Europe? 

454. When did a beggar's grandson become a king? 

455. Who said, " I am the state"? 

456. Who was the "Last of the knights"? 

457. What peasant girl became a queen? 

458. Has Germany or France ever had a queen-regnant? 

459. To what historical event is allusion made in the poem, begin- 
ning : 

" On Linden, when the sun was low, All bloodless lay the untrodden snow." 

460. Name the fifteen most decisive battles and sieges of modern 
times, and state the reasons for the selection. 



INDEX. 



Abbass'ides, 24. 

Abdal'lali, 99. 

Ab'elard, 107. 

Aboukir, Battle of, 245^ 

A'cre, 245. 

Adam, L'Isle, 130. 

Addison. 247. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 184, 223. 

Albert I. of Austria, 78. 

" II. '' '^ 78. 

" Prince, 280. 
Albigenses, 52. 

Albuera, Battle of, 262. * 

AKcuin, 30, 43. 

Alexander of Russia, 259, 262. 
Altonso ot Aragon, 89. 
Allred the Great, 33. 
Alham'bra, Palace of, 24. 
Al'ma, Batile of, 280. 
Alsace, 274. 
Alva, Duke of, 140. 
Amiens, Treaty of, 253. 
Amuiath, loi. 

Angelo, Michael, 89, 118, 161. 
Angles, 32. 
Anglo-Saxons, 12, 41. 
Angora, Battle of, 100. 
Anjou, Duke of, 124. 
Anne ot Beaujeu, 64. 
Anne, Queen, 206. 
Aquinas, 107. 
Aquitaine, 50, 58. 
Arc, Joan of. See Jeanne Dare. 
Architecture, Gothic, 109. 
Arco'le, Battle of, 243. 
Arkwright, 250. 
Armada, Defeat of, 158. 
Armaguacs, 60. 
Armor, 106. 
As'pern, Battle of, 260. 
Assembly, The Legislative, 236. 

" The National, 234. 
Au'erstadt, Battle of, 258. 
Augs'burg, Confession of, 136. 

" Diet at, 136. 

Augustine, St., 33. 
Aulic Council, The, 81. 
Aus'terlitz, Battle of, 257. 
Austria, 68, 78. 

Austrian Succession, War of, 221. 
Azincourt, Battle of, 60. 
Aztecs, 121. 



Ba'ber, 100. 

Babylonish Captivity, The, 86. 
Bacon, Roger, 107, 118. 
Lord, 162, 207. 
Bajazet, loi. 

Bal'akla'va, Battle of, 280. 
Balance of Power, 120. 
Bale. Council of, 86. 
Ba'iiol, John, 39. 
Bannockburn, Battle of, 39. 
Banquets, Reform, 270. 
Barbarossa, of Germany, 74. 
Barbarossa, Turkish Admiral, 130. 
Barneveld, J. van Olden, 143. 
Barri, Comtesse du, 231. 
Bartholemew's Day, Alassacre of, 147 
Bastile, Capture ot, 234. 
Baut'zen, Batde of, 204. 
Baxter, Richard, 207. 
Bayard, Chevalier, 125, 126, 128. 
Bayonet, 185. 
Beauharnais, de, 241. 
Beaumont and Fletcher, 207. 
Becket, Thomas a. 37. 
Bede, The Venerable, 43. 
Bedford, Duke of, 61. 
Beggars, The, 140. 
Benvenu'to Celli'ni, 161. 
Berlin Decrees, 259. 
Bernard of Weimar, 177. 
Bible, Translations of, 134, 153, 188. 
Bismarck, 284. 
Black, Joseph, 249. 

" Death, 56. 

" Hole, 228. 

" Prince, 56, 58. 
Blen'heim, Battle of, 187. 
Blii'cher, Marshal, 266. 
Boleyn, Anne, 151. 
Borodino, Battle of, 262. 
Bourbon, Constable de, 128. 
Bourgeoisie, 53. 
Bouvines, Battle of, 52. 
Boyne, Battle of, 205. 
Brandenburg, 220. 
Bretigny, l^eace of, 58. 
Bruce, Robert, 39. 
Bunyan, John, 207. 
Buonaparte, 240. 
Burghers, 68. 

Burgundy, Duke of, 60, 61. 
"■ Kingdom of, 63. 



XVI 



II^D E X. 



Burke, 247. 
Bums, Robert, 247. 

Cade's Insurrection, 62. 

Caliphs, 21. 

Calvin, John, 135. 

Cambrai, League of, 126. 

Campo Formio, Treaty of, 244. 

Cannon, Use of, 118. 

Canute, 33. 

Capet, Hugh, 50. 

Carbonari, 286. 

Carlovingian Line, 26. 

Castiglione, Battle of, 243. 

Castillon, Battle of, 63. 

Castles, 103. 

Cateau-Cambresis, Treaty of, 138. 

Catharine de' Medici. See Medici. 

Catharine the Great, 219. 

Cavaliers, The, 194. 

Cavour, Count, 288. 

Cecil, William, 156. 

Chapman, 162. 

Charlemagne, 26. 

Charles I. of England, 191. 

" II. '" 200. 

" III. (the Simple) of France, 

" V: of France, 59, 

::• Y.h :: 59. 



VII. 


61. 


VIII. ' 


117, 124 


IX. 


' 146. 


X. 


269. 



" IV. of Germany, 79. 

" V. " 127. 

" XII. of Sweden, 217. 
Charles Edward Stuart, 204. 
Charles Martel, 23. 
Ciiarles the Bold, 63. 
Charles of Valois, 49, 54. 
Chartists, The, 278. 
Cliatham. See Pitt. 
Chau'cer, 108. 
Chivalr3% 104. 
Christian IV., 174. 
Cities, Growth of, 77. 
Clisson, Du, 60. 
Clive, Robert, 228. 
Clovis. See Franks. 
Col'bert, 183. 

Co'ligny, Admiral de, 145. 
Columbus, 121. 

Commonwealth, The English, 197. 
Commune, The, 275. 
Communes, 52. 
Condi, Prince of, 182. 
Conrad II., 69, 70. 

;; III., 73, 94- 

" IV., 75. 
Constance, Council of, 79. 
Constantinople, Siege of, loi. 
Continental System, 259. 
Copernicus, 118, 162. 
Corday, Charlotte, 23S. 
Cordeliers, The, 234. 
Corn Laws, 277. 
Cortes, The, 98. 
Cortes, Hernando, 122. 
Covenanters, 193. 
Cowper, 247. 



Cranmer, Archbishop, 151. 
Crecy, Battle of, 55. 
Crespy, Peace of, 131. 
Crimean War, The, 280. 
Cromwell, Oliver, 195. 

" Richard, 200. 

" Thomas, 152. 

Crusades, The, 91. 
Cuvier, 249. 

Danes or Northmen, 33, 48. 
Dante, 108. 
Danton, 234. 
Dark Ages, The, 10. 
Darnley, Lord, 157. 
Dauphin, The, 56, 
De Foe, 247. 
Desaix, 253. 
Descartes, 207. 
Dettingen, Battle of, 223, 
Diaz, \Bartholemew, 120. 
Directory, The, 240. 
Disraeli, 281. 
DoUond, 249. 
Doria, Andrea, 129. 
Dover, Treaty of, 202. 
Drake, Sir Francis, 159. 
Drayton, 162. 
Dresden, Battle of, 264. 
Dryden, 207. 
Du Barri, 231. 
Dudley, Lord, 155. 
Dudley, Robert, 160. 
Dunbar, Battle ot, 197. 
Dutch Republic, 139. 

East Indian Company, 143, 159. 
Edward I. of England, 35, 38. 

:: if. ." S:"- 
" vi. :: n,. 

Edward the Black Prince, 56. 
Edward the Confessor, 33. 
Egbert of England, 33. 
Egypt, Campaign in, 245. 
Eleanor, Queen, 50, 94. 
Electors, The Seven, 76, 79. 
Elizabeth, Electress Palatine, 174. 

" Queen, 155. 

England, History of, in i6th century, 149. 

" " in 17th " 188. 

" " in i8th " 226. 

" " in 19th " 277. 

" Rise of, 31. 
Escurial. The, 138. 
Essex, Earl of, 160. 
Eugene, Prince, 187. 
Eugenie. Empress, 274. 
Eylau, Battle of, 259. 

Fahrenheit, 249. 

Feme, The, 77. 

Fenelon, 207. 

Ferdinand I. of Aragon, 98, 117. 

Ferdinand I. of Germany, 138. 

:: "v :: ^38,174. 
III. 179. 

Feudalism, 102. 
Fiefs, 102. 



INDEX. 



xvu 



Field of Cloth of Gold, 127. 
Fire. Great, ot London, 201. 
Flanders. War ol, 184. 
Fleurus, Battle of. 186. 
Flodden Field, Hattle of, 150. 
Florence, 86. 
Fontenay, Battle of. 28. 
Fonienoy, Battle of, 223. 
Fo«nova, Battle of, 124. 
Forty- Years War, The, 140. 
France, History of, in i6th century, 144. 
in 17th "■ 180. 
" '• in i8th " 230. 

" in loth •■ 253. 

Franche Comte (Free County). 64. 
Francis I. of France, 126. 
" II. '' 145. 

Franconia, House of, 69. 
Franklin. Benjamin, 249. 
Franks, The, 12. 

■' Kingdom of. 25. 
Frederick I., Barbarossa, 74, 94. 

" II. of Germany, 75, 89. 

" Count of HohenzoUern, 80. 

" Elector-palatme. 174, 
Frederick I. of Prussia, 220. 

'' II., the Great, of Prussia, 221. 

" William, of Prussia, 221. 
Frederick William, the Great Elector, 220. 
Freiburg, Battle of, 179. 
French Revolution, The, 230. 
Friedland, Battle of, 259. 
Frobisher, 158. 
Fronde, The, 183. 
Fuentes, Count of, 182. 
Fugger, 135, 170. 
Fulton, 250. 

Galile'o, 162, 

Galvani. 249. 

Garibaldi, 287. 

Gauls, The, 65. 

Genghis Khan, 99. 

Genoa, 86, 

Georges, The, 226, 277. 

Germans, The, t6. 

Germany, History of, in i6th century, 127. 



in 17th 
in i8th 
" " in 19th 

" Rise of, 67, 

Gessler, 82. 

Ghent. Pacification of, 142. 

Ghibellines, The, 73. 

Gibbon, 248. 

Girondists, The, 236. 

Gladstone, 281. 

Godfrey of Bouillon, 92. 

Goethe, 248. 

Golden Bull, The, 79^ 

Goldsmith, Oliver, 247. 

Gonsalvo de Cordova, 125. 

Gothic Architecture, 109. 

Grana'da, Conquest of, 98. 

Granson, Battle of, 64. 

Gravelotte, Battle of, 274. 

Gray, 247. 

Greece, 291. 

Greek Empire, The, 13. 

Greek Fire, 22- 



174. 
220. 
282, 



Gregory VII., Pope, 33. 

Grevy, 276. 

Grey^ Lady Jane, 155. 

Grouchy, 266. 

Guesclin, Bertrand du, 59. 

Guelts and Ghibellines, 73. 

Guericke. Otto, 208. 

Guilds, 109. 

Guinegate, Battle of, 126. 

Guiscard of Normandy, 92. 

Guise, Duke i^'rancis of, 144. 

'■ Henry of. 146. 
Gunpowder, 118. 
Gunpowder Plot, 190. 
Gustavus Adolphus, 176. 
Gu'tenberg, 119. 
Guy Fawkes, 190. 

Habeas Corpus Act, 203. 
Hampden, John, 193. 
Hanover, House ot, 226. 
Hanseatic League, 78. 
Hapsburgs, The, 76, 78. 
Harlem, Siege of, 140. 
Haroun al Rasch'id, 24. 
Harvey, 208. 
Hastings. Battle of 34. 
Hawkins, 159. 
Hegel, 248. 
Hegira, The, 20. 
Hengist and Horsa, 32. 
Henry I. of England, 35. 
" " " 36,34. 



II. 



III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 



37- 

60. 

60. 

61. 

149. 

150. 



" TI. of France, 137, 

" III. " 147. 

'' IV. '' 148. 

" I. of Germany, 67. 

" II. '• 68. 

" III. '' 70. 

'• IV. " 70. 

'' V. " 71. 

Herschel, 249. 

Hildebrand, 70. 

Hohenlinden, Battle of, 253. 

Hohenstaufen Line, 73, 74, 89. 

HohenzoUern, House of, 80. 

Holbein, 209. 

Holland, 139. 

Holy Alliance, 282. 

Holy League, 126. 

Holy Roman Empire, The, 69. 

Hospitallers, 93, 130. 

Howard, Catharine, 154. 

Howard, John, 250. 

Huguenots, The, 180. 

Hume, 248. 

Hundred Days, The, 265. 

Hundred-Years War, 40, 54. 

Hungary, 68, 79. 

Huns, The, 68 

Huss, John, 80. 

Hussite War, 80. 

Huyghens, 208. 



iXVlll 



IKDEX 



Incas, The, 122. 
Independents, The, 195. 
Inkerman, Battle ot, 280. 
Interim, The, 137. 
Interregnum, The Great, 75. 
Investiture, War of, 70. 
Ireland, Conquest of, 38. 
Ireton, Henry, 196. 
Isabella of Castile, 98. 
Italian Cities, 86. 
" War, 288. 
Italy, 84. 
Ivry, Battle of, 148. 

Jacobins, The, 234. 
Jacobites (Lat. Jacobus), 205. 
Jacquerie, 58. 
James I. of England, 188. 
" II. '' 203. 

Jane Seymour, 154. 
Janizaries, 100. 
Japan, 290. 
Jeanne Dare, 61. ' 
Jemmapes, Battle of, 237. 
Jena, Battle of, 258. 
Jerome of Prague, 80. 
John of England, 37, 52. 
John the Good, 49, 56. 
Johnson, Samuel, 247, 
Jonson, Ben, 162. 
Justinian, 13. 

Kant, 248. 
Kepler, 161, 208. 
Khddijah, 20. 
Knight, The, 104. 
Knights Templar, 93. 
Knox, John, 157. 
Knut. See Canute. 
Kolin, Battle of, 224. 
Koran. See Mohammed. 
Kossuth, 284. 

Ladies' Peace, The, 129. 

La Fayette, 269. 

Lamarck, 249. 

Lancaster. House of, 34. 

Latimer, Hugh, 154. 

Laud, Archbishop, 192. 

Lavoissier, 249. 

Law, John, 230. 

Lawfelt, Battle of, 223. 

Lech, Battle of the 177. 

Legnano, Battle of, 74. 

Leicester, Earl of, 158, 160. 

Leignitz, Battle of, 224. 

Leipsic, Battles of, 177, 264. 

Lens, Battle of, 179. 

Leo X., Pope, 88. 

Leonardo da Vinci, 89, 161, 

Lepanto, Battle of, 290. 

Leuthen, Battle of, 224. 

Lewies, Battle of, 38. 

Leyden, Siege of, 142. 

Linnaeus, 249. 

Locke, 207. 

Lodi, Battle of, 242. 

Lombard, Peter, 107. 

Lombards, The, 14, 86. 

Longbow, The English, 36, 55, 57, 107. 



Longobards, The, 19. 
Lothaire I., 69. 

" II. of Germany, 73. 
Louis VjI. of France, 40, 04. 

" vm. " Z 

'! J?' '' 53, 97- 

X. 49. 

'' XL " 63. 

" XIL " 124. 

" XIII. " 180. 

" XIV. 'V 182. 

" XV. '' 230. 

'' XVL " 231. 

"■ XVII. See Brief France, 

" XVIII. of France, 265. 
Louis Napoleon, 272. 
Louis Philippe, 269. 
Louvois, 183, 
Lo'wosits, Battle of, 224. 
Llitzen, Battles of, 177, 264. 
Luneville, Treaty of, 253. 
Luther, Martin, 118, 132. 
Lutherans, The, 135. 
Luxemburg, Marshal of, 184. 

Madrid, Treaty of, 129. 

Magdeburg, Siege of, 176. 

Magellan, 118. 

Magenta, Battle of, 288. 

Magna Charta, 36. 

Mahomet. See Mohammed. 

Maid of Orleans. See Jeanne Dare, 

Maintenon, Madame de, 184, 210. 

Malines, League of, 126. 

Malplaquet, Battle of, 189. 

Marat, 234. 

March, Earl of, 60, 61. 

Marengo, Battle of, 253. 

Maria Louisa, Empress, 261. 

Maria There'sa. 184, 221. 

Maria de' Med'ici, 180. 

Marie Antoinette, 231. 

Marignano, Battle of, 126. 

Marlborough, Duke ot, 187, 206. 

Marseillaise, The, 236. 

Marston Moor, Battle of, 195. 

Mary of Burgundy, 64, 81, 127, 

" of England, 138, 155. 

" of Orange, 204. 

" of Scots, 145, 157. 

" Stuart, r45. 
Matthias, 138. 
Maurice, Prince, 136. 

*' of Nassau, 142. 
Maximilian I., 81. 

II., 138. 
Mayors of Palace, 25. 
Mazarin, 182. 
Mazzini, 286. 
Medici Family, 88. 

"■ Catharine de', 144, 

" Maria de', 180. 
Melanchthon, Philip, 133. 
Merovingian Line, 25. 
Methodists, The, 228. 
Metz, 274. 
Mexico, 121. 
Milton, John, 207, 
Minnesingers, 108. 
Mississippi Scheme, 231. 



INDEX 



XIX 



Moguls, TOO. 

Monacs, Battle of, 130. 

Mohammed, 20. 

II., lOI. 

Mongols, 99. 

Monk, General, 200. 

Monttbrt. Simon de, 38, 52. 

Montniorenci, 144. 

More, Sir Thomas, 152. 

Moors, The, 98. 

Moral, Battle ot, 64. 

Morgarten. Battle of, 82. | 

.Morton's Fork, 149. 

Mountain, The, 236. 

Nafels, Battle of, 83. 
Nancv, Battle of, 64. 
Nantes, Edict of, 148, 184. 
Napoleon Buonaparte, 241. 

" III., 272. 
Narv-a, Battle of, 217. 
Naseby. Battle of, 195. 
Navarre. King of, 145. 
Necker, 232, 

Neerwinden, Battle of, 186. 
Nelson, 245, 257. 
Netherlands, The, 139. 
Nevili"s Cross, Battle of, 56. 
New Model, The, 195. 
Newton, 208. 
Ney, 267. 

Nibelungenlied, 108. 
Nicopolis, Battle of, loi. 
Nimeguen, Peace of, 186. 
Nonconformists, 156, 200. 
Nordlingen, Battle of, 178, 179. 
Norman Conquest. 35. 
Normandy. 34, 50. 
Normans, The, 46 48, 66. 
Northumberland, Duke of. 155. 

Oates, Titus, ro2. 

Omar. See Saracens. 

Ommiades. See Saracens. 

Orange, Prince of. See William. 

Ordeal, 42 

Orleanists. 60. 

Orleans, Maid of. See Jeanne Dare. 

Ostrogoths, 12. 

Otto I., 68. 

Ottomans. See Turks. 

Oxenstiem. 178. 

Palatixate, Dev.\st.\tion of, 186. 
Papacy, 15, 84. 
Pappenheim, 177. 
Parliament of Paris, '53. 

" Long, 193, 

Parr, Catherine, 154. 
Pascal, 208. 

Passau, Treaty of, 137. 
Passj', Massacre of, 146, 
Pavia, Battle of, 128. 
Peasants, The, 77, 232. 
Pepin the Short, 26. 
Peru, 122, 
Peter the Cruel, 58. 

"' " Great, 214. 

" " Hermit. 92. 
Philip Augustus, 51, 94. 



Philip VI. of France, 49, 55. 
II. of Spain, 138, 139. 

" III. " 143. 

" IV. '' 184. 

" the Good, 61. 
Pisa, 86. 
Pitt, 228. 230. 
Pizarro, 122. 

Plamagenet Line, 34, 40. 
Poitiers, Battle ot, 56. 
Poland, Partition of, 220. 
Pragmatic Sanction, 86. 
Prague, University of, 79. 
Presburg, Treaty of, 257. 
Presbyterians, The, 195. 
Pretenders, The, 204. 
Pride's Purge, 196. 
Printing, 119. 
Prussia, 220. 
Pultowa, Battle of, 218. 
Puritans, The, 156. 
Pym, John, 194. 
Pyramids, Battle of, 245. 
Pyrenees, Peace of, 183. 

Quakers, The, 199. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 159, 162. 
Ramillies, Battle of, 187. 
Raphael, 89, 118, 161. 
Rastadt. Peace of, 187. 
Raucaux, Battle of, 223. 
Ravaillac, 148. 
Reformation, The, 132. 
Reform Banquets, 270. 
Reign of Terror, 237. 
Rembrandt, 209. 
Renaissance, 89, ir8. 
Reni, 124. 
Reni, Guido, 161. 
Restoration, The English, 200. 

" " French, 265. 

Revival of Learning. 118, 132. 
Revolution of 1688, 234. 

'• of 1848, 271. 
Rhenish League. 78. 
Richard I. of England, 94. 
II. '■ 59- 

■' III. " 40, 63. 

Richelieu. Cardinal de, 181. 
Ridley, Bishop, 155. 
R'enzL 93. 
Rights, Bill of 204. 
Rivoli, Battle of. 244. 
Riz'zio. See Mary Stuart. 
Robespierre, 234. 
Rochelle, Siege of, 181. 
Rocroi. Battle of, 179. 
Roland, The Paladin, 26. 
Rolf, Rollo or Roe, 48. 
Romans, The King of the, 75. 
Roses, Wars of, 40, 63. 
Rossbach, Battle of, 224. 
Roundheads, The. 194. 
Rudolph II. of Austria, 138. 

" of Hapsburg, 76, 81. 
Runnymede, 36. 
Rupert, Prince, 194. 
Russell, Lord William, 203. 
" Lord John, 278. 



XX 



INDEX. 



Russia, 214. 

Rye House Plot, 203. 

Rys'wick, Treaty ot, 187. 

Sadowa, Battle of, 285. 
Saladin, Caliph, 94. 
Saracens, The, 20. 
Savonarola, 89. 
Saxons, Ttie Anglo-, 32, 41. 
Saxon Dynasty, The, 67. 
Schiller, 248. 
Schism, The Great, 79. 
Schleswig-Holstein, 284. 
Schoolmen, The, 107. 
Sedan, Battle of, 274. 
Sempach, Battle of, 82. 
Seven-Months War, 273. 
Seven-Weeks War, 280. 
Seven- Vears War, 223. 
Sevigne, Madame de, 207, 211. 
Seymour, Jane, 154. 
Shakspere, 162. 
Ship-money, 193. 
Sicilian Vespers, 89. 
Sicily, 89. 
Sidney, Algernon, 203. 

Sir Philip, 158, 162. 
Sigismund, 79, 80. 
Slave Trade, Abolition of, 278. 
Sluys, Battle of, 55. 
Smalcaldic League, 136. 

" War, 136. 

Sobieski, 186. 
Solyman, 130. 
South-Sea Scheme, 226. 
Spanish Succession, War of, 187. 
Spain, 127. 
Spenser, 162. 
Star Chamber, The, 193. 
St. Bartholomew, Massacre of, 147. 
St. Germain, Treaty of, 146. 
St. Quentin, 138. 
Steinkirk, Battle of, 186. 
Strafford, Earl of. 192. 
Stuarts, The, 188. 
Stuart, Mary. See Mary, 
Student, The Traveling, 170. 
Style, 108. 
Sully, 148. 

Sumptuary Laws, no. 
Suzerain, 102. 
Switzerland, 82. 

Talbot, 63. 
Tancred, 92. 
Tell, William, 82. 
Templars, 54, 93. 
Test Act, 202. 
Tetzel, 132. 

Thirty-Years War, 174. 
Tiers etat, 54, 234. 
Tilly, Count, 176. 
Tilsit, Peace of, 259. 
Torgau, Battle of, 224. 
Tories, 194, 203. 
Tournaments, 106. 
Tours, Battle of, 22. 
Trafalgar, Battle of, 257. 



Trent, Council of, 136. 
Triple Alliance, 184. 
Troyes, Treaty of, 61. 
Truce of God, 70. 
Tudors, 149 
Tugendbund, 259. 
Turks, the, 24, 100, 130. 
Turenne, 182. 
Tyler, Wat, 60. 

Utrecht, Treaty of, i8> 

Valmy, Battle of, 237. 

Valois, 54. 

Vandals, 12. 

Vauban, 183. 

Vaudois, 144. 

Venice, 86. 

Verdun, Treaty of. 29. 

Veronese, Paul, 161. 

Victoria, Queen, 277. 

Vienna, Congress of, 266, 282, 

" Siege of, 130, 256. 
Vionville, Battle of, 274. 
Visigoths, The, 12. 
Voltaire, 233. 

Wagram, Battle of, 261. 
Waiblingen, 73. 
Wales, 38. 

" Prince of, 38. 
Wallace, William, 39. 
Wallenstein, Count, 175, 177. 
Walpole, Robert, 227. 
Walter the Penniless, 92. 
Warwick, Earl of, 63. 
Waterloo. Battle of, 266. 
Watt, James, 249. 
Weinsburg, 73. 
Weissenburg, Battle of; 274. 
Wellesley. See Wellington. 
Welf, .73. 

Wellington, Lord, 260. 
Weregeld, 17, 42. 
Wesley, John, 228. 
Westphalia, Peace of, 83, 179. 
Whigs, The, 194, 203. 
Whitney, Eli, 250. 
William I. of England, 34, 50. 

'' III. " 184, 204. 

" the Silent, 140. 
Windows, 163. 
Winkelried, 83. 
Witenagemot, 41. 
Woden, 16, 41. 
Worth, Battle of, 274. 
Wolsey, Cardinal, 128, 150. 
Worcester, Battle of. 197. 
World's Fair, 273, 280. 
Worms, Concordat of. 73. 

" Diet at, 80, 133 

York, House of, 34, 40, 6^ 

Zenghis Khan, 99. 
Zorndorf, Battle of, 224. 
Zwingle, Ulrich, 135. 



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